Virtual content sharing across smart glasses

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media configured for enabling content sharing between users of wearable extended reality appliances are provided. In one implementation, the computer readable medium may be configured to contain instructions to cause at least one processor to establish a link between a first wearable extended reality appliance and a second wearable extended reality appliance. The first wearable extended reality appliance may display first virtual content. The second wearable extended reality appliance may obtain a command to display first virtual content via the second wearable extended reality appliance, and in response, this content may be transmitted and displayed via the second extended reality appliance. Additionally, the first wearable extended reality appliance may receive second virtual content from the second wearable extended reality appliance, and display said second virtual content via the first wearable extended reality appliance.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of PCT International Application No.PCT/US2022/015547, filed Feb. 8, 2022, which claims the benefit ofpriority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/147,051, filed onFeb. 8, 2021, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/157,768, filedon Mar. 7, 2021, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/173,095,filed on Apr. 9, 2021, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.63/213,019, filed on filed on Jun. 21, 2021, U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 63/215,500, filed on Jun. 27, 2021, U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 63/216,335, filed on Jun. 29, 2021, U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 63/226,977, filed on Jul. 29, 2021,U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/300,005, filed on Jan. 16,2022, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/307,207, filed on Feb.7, 2022, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/307,203, filed onFeb. 7, 2022, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/307,217,filed on Feb. 7, 2022 all of which are incorporated herein by referencein their entirety.

BACKGROUND I. Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of extendedreality. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to systems,methods, and devices for providing productivity applications using anextended reality environment.

II. Background Information

For many years, PC users were faced with a productivity dilemma: eitherto limit their mobility (when selecting a desktop computer) or to limittheir screen size (when selecting a laptop computer). One partialsolution to this dilemma is using a docking station. A docking stationis an interface device for connecting a laptop computer with otherdevices. By plugging the laptop computer into the docking station,laptop users can enjoy the increased visibility provided by a largermonitor. But because the large monitor is stationary, the mobility ofthe user—while improved—is still limited. For example, even laptop userswith docking stations do not have the freedom of using two 32″ screensanywhere they want.

Some of the disclosed embodiments are directed to providing a newapproach for solving the productivity dilemma, one that uses extendedreality (XR) to provide a mobile environment that enables users toexperience the comfort of a stationary workspace anywhere they want byproviding virtual desktop-like screens.

SUMMARY

Embodiments consistent with the present disclosure provide systems,methods, and devices for providing and supporting productivityapplications using an extended reality environment.

Some disclosed embodiments may include systems, methods andnon-transitory computer readable media for enabling content sharingbetween users of wearable extended reality appliances. Some of theseembodiments may involve establishing a link between a first wearableextended reality appliance and a second wearable extended realityappliance; presenting through the first wearable extended realityappliance first virtual content; obtaining a first command to displaythe first virtual content via the second wearable extended realityappliance; in response to the first command, causing the first virtualcontent to be transmitted for display to the second wearable extendedreality appliance; receiving from the second wearable extended realityappliance, second virtual content for display via the first wearableextended reality appliance; and presenting via the first wearableextended reality appliance the second virtual content received from thesecond wearable extended reality appliance.

Some disclosed embodiments may include systems, methods andnon-transitory computer readable media for providing situationalawareness to users of wearable extended reality appliances. Some ofthese embodiments may involve causing virtual content to be displayedthrough a first wearable extended reality appliance: detecting a secondwearable extended reality appliance in proximity to the first wearableextended reality appliance; establishing a link between the firstwearable extended reality appliance and the second wearable extendedreality appliance; and transmitting data representing at least a portionof the virtual content in an obscured form to the second wearableextended reality appliance, wherein the obscured form provides anindication of a position of the at least a portion of the virtualcontent in a three-dimensional space without revealing substance of thevirtual content in obscured form.

Some disclosed embodiments may include systems, methods andnon-transitory computer readable media for tying a virtual whiteboard toa physical space. Some of these embodiments may involve receiving via awireless network, an indication of a location of a first wearableextended reality appliance; performing a lookup in a repository ofvirtual whiteboards and locations thereof to determine that the locationof the first wearable extended reality appliance corresponds to alocation of a particular virtual whiteboard; transmitting to the firstwearable extended reality appliance, data corresponding to content ofthe particular virtual whiteboard to thereby enable a first user of thefirst wearable extended reality appliance to virtually view the contentof the particular virtual whiteboard and to add virtual content to theparticular virtual whiteboard; receiving, during a first time period,the virtual content added by the first user; receiving via the wirelessnetwork at a second time period after the first wearable extendedreality appliance is no longer in the location of the particular virtualwhiteboard, an indication that a second wearable extended realityappliance is in the location of the particular virtual whiteboard; andtransmitting to the second wearable extended reality appliance, datacorresponding to the content and the added content of the particularvirtual whiteboard, to thereby enable a second user of the secondwearable extended reality appliance to view the content and the addedcontent while the first user is absent from the location of theparticular virtual whiteboard.

Some disclosed embodiments may include systems, methods andnon-transitory computer readable media for transferring virtual contentto a physical display device. Some of these embodiments may involvepresenting an extended reality environment in a room via a wearableextended reality appliance, the wearable extended reality appliancebeing configured to be paired with multiple display devices located inthe room, wherein each display device is associated with a uniquenetwork identifier; receiving input associated with the wearableextended reality appliance to cause presentation of a specific virtualobject in the extended reality environment on a target display device;receiving image data from an image sensor associated with the wearableextended reality appliance, the image data depicting the target displaydevice; analyzing the image data to identify the target display device;upon identifying the target display device, determining a networkidentifier of the target display device; using the determined networkidentifier of the target display device to establish a communicationslink with the target display device; and transmitting data representingthe specific virtual object to the target display device, wherein thetransmitted data enables the target display device to present thespecific virtual object.

Some disclosed embodiments may include systems, methods andnon-transitory computer readable media for simulating user interactionswith shared content. Some of these embodiments may involve establishinga communication channel for sharing content and user interactionsbetween a first wearable extended reality appliance and at least onesecond wearable extended reality appliance; transmitting to the at leastone second wearable extended reality appliance, first data representingan object associated with the first wearable extended reality appliance,the first data enabling a virtual representation of the object to bedisplayed through the at least one second wearable extended realityappliance; receiving image data from an image sensor associated with thefirst wearable extended reality appliance; detecting in the image dataat least one user interaction associated with the object, the at leastone user interaction including a human hand pointing to a specificportion of the object; and based on the detection of the at least oneuser interaction in the image data, transmitting to the at least onesecond wearable extended reality appliance second data indicating anarea of the specific portion of the object.

Some disclosed embodiments may include systems, methods andnon-transitory computer readable media for managing content placement inextended reality environments. Some of these embodiments may involvereceiving a request from an entity to place a virtual content at aspecific geographic location in at least one shared extended realityenvironment that includes a plurality of virtual objects, wherein theplurality of virtual objects are viewable by a plurality of wearableextended reality appliances registered to the at least one sharedextended reality environment; obtaining information associated with therequest; accessing a plurality of content placement rules defininggeographical restrictions on extended reality environment contentplacement; based on the obtained information, determining that therequest from the entity to place the virtual content at the specificgeographic location corresponds to a specific content placement rule;implementing the specific content placement rule to prevent a display ofthe virtual content at the specific geographic location in the at leastone shared extended reality environment by at least some of theplurality of wearable extended reality appliances when a condition ofthe specific content placement rule is not met; and implementing thespecific content placement rule to enable the display of the virtualcontent at the specific geographic location in the at least one sharedextended reality environment by at least some of the plurality ofwearable extended reality appliances when the condition of the specificcontent placement rule is met.

Some disclosed embodiments may include systems, methods andnon-transitory computer readable media for presenting virtual content tomultiple viewers. Some of these embodiments may involve receiving sensordata indicative of a plurality of wearable extended reality applianceslocated in a room; receiving a command to share a virtual object withthe plurality of wearable extended reality appliances; analyzing thesensor data to determine a first location in the room of a firstwearable extended reality appliance, a second location in the room of asecond wearable extended reality appliance, and a third location in theroom of a third wearable extended reality appliance; determining aposition for displaying the virtual object in the room based on thedetermined first location, the determined second location, and thedetermined third location; causing a first display of the virtual objectat the determined position through the first wearable extended realityappliance, the first display being rendered from a first perspective;causing a second display of the virtual object at the determinedposition through the second wearable extended reality appliance, thesecond display being rendered from a second perspective different fromthe first perspective; and causing a third display of the virtual objectat the determined position through the third wearable extended realityappliance, the third display being rendered from a third perspectivedifferent from the first perspective and the second perspective.

Some disclosed embodiments may include systems, methods andnon-transitory computer readable media for making virtual coloredmarkings on objects. Some of these embodiments may involve receiving anindication of an object; receiving from an image sensor an image of ahand of an individual holding a physical marking implement; detecting inthe image a color associated with the marking implement; receiving fromthe image sensor image data indicative of movement of a tip of themarking implement and locations of the tip; determining from the imagedata when the locations of the tip correspond to locations on theobject; and generating, in the detected color, virtual markings on theobject at the corresponding locations.

Some disclosed embodiments may include systems, methods andnon-transitory computer readable media for enabling wearable extendedreality appliances to share virtual content. Some of these embodimentsmay involve generating a visual code reflecting a first physicalposition of a mobile device, the visual code being configured to be readby a plurality of wearable extended reality appliances; presenting thevisual code on a display of the mobile device for detection by theplurality of wearable extended reality appliances, to thereby enable theplurality of wearable extended reality appliances to share content in acommon coordinate system upon the detection of the visual code:detecting movement of the mobile device to a second physical positiondifferent from the first physical position; and upon detecting movementof the mobile device, altering the presentation of the visual code sothat the visual code is unavailable for use in content sharing.

Consistent with other disclosed embodiments, non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media may store program instructions, whichare executed by at least one processing device and perform any of themethods described herein.

The foregoing general description and the following detailed descriptionare exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of theclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this disclosure, illustrate various disclosed embodiments. Inthe drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a user, using an example extendedreality system, consistent with the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the main components of the exampleextended reality system of FIG. 1, consistent with the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating some of the components of aninput unit, consistent with the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating some of the components of anextended reality unit, consistent with the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating some of the components of aremote processing unit, consistent with the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary pictorial illustration of sharing movementsbetween first and second users of wearable extended reality appliances,consistent with some disclosed embodiments.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a sharing actionvia a sharing bubble between first and second users of wearable extendedreality appliances.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a sharing actionwherein a first extended reality appliance user may lean towards asecond user to share content.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a sharing action via asharing ring.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate an exemplary embodiment of sharing contentsubsequently presented via a first wearable extended reality appliance.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a sharingaction, illustrating use of a gesture to send content to a physicalscreen.

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a sharingaction, illustrating use of a gesture to share virtual content with oneor more physical screens.

FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate an exemplary embodiment of sharing contentand presenting it via a second wearable extended reality appliance.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of coordinatingbetween the first and second wearable extended reality appliances todisplay virtual content, consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 15 is an illustration of an exemplary environment including aplurality of users, using a plurality of wearable extended realityappliances, consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is an illustration of exemplary virtual displays including aportion of the virtual displays provided in an obscured form, consistentwith some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 is another exemplary illustration of a virtual display providedin an obscured form, consistent with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of an exemplary method of providing situationalawareness to users of wearable extended reality appliances, consistentwith some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for tying avirtual whiteboard to a physical space, consistent with some embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 20 and FIG. 21 are schematic diagrams illustrating examples oftying a virtual whiteboard to a physical space, consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for addingcontent to a virtual whiteboard, consistent with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for deletingcontent from a virtual whiteboard, consistent with some embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for uploadingcontent to a virtual whiteboard based on types of content, consistentwith some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for viewingcontent from a virtual whiteboard, consistent with some embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for viewingvirtual whiteboard content of interest to a user, consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 27 illustrates examples of various physical display devices,consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 28 illustrates an example of transferring virtual content to aphysical display device, consistent with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 29 illustrates an example of a user gesture for transferringvirtual content to a physical display device, consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 30 illustrates an example of a pointing device input fortransferring virtual content to a physical display device, consistentwith some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart of an exemplary method 3100 of transferringvirtual content to a physical display device, consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for simulatinguser interactions with shared content, consistent with some embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for simulatinguser interactions with shared content, consistent with some embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 34, FIG. 35, and FIG. 36 are schematic diagrams illustratingvarious use snapshots of an example system for simulating userinteractions with shared content, consistent with some embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 37A depicts an exemplary geographic location that is not yetregistered to any extended reality environment.

FIG. 37B depicts the exemplary geographic location described in FIG. 37Aafter it is registered to the public extended reality environment,consistent with some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 37C illustrates the exemplary geographic location described in FIG.37B in which virtual content is displayed in an extended realityenvironment, consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 37D illustrates the exemplary geographic location described in FIG.37B wherein a user may gesture to a geographic location where virtualcontent is desired for display, consistent with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 38 is a diagram illustrating content placement rules, implementedbased on various input parameters, consistent with some embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart of a process for determining whether to displaycontent in a specific geographical location, consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of managingcontent placement in extended reality environments, consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 41 illustrates a one exemplary presentation of virtual content tomultiple viewers, consistent with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 42A illustrates another exemplary presentation of virtual contentto multiple viewers, consistent with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 42B illustrates an exemplary display of a virtual object through awearable extended reality appliance rendered from differentperspectives, consistent with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 43 illustrates a further exemplary presentation of virtual contentto multiple viewers, consistent with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 44 illustrates yet another exemplary presentation of virtualcontent to multiple viewers, consistent with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 45 illustrates an exemplary method, consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 46 illustrates an exemplary method, consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 47 illustrates an exemplary method, consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 48 illustrates an exemplary method, consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 49 is a schematic illustration of an individual using an exampleextended reality system to make virtual color markings on an object,consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 50 is a schematic illustration depicting an object and a handholding a physical marking implement, consistent with some embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIGS. 51A to 51D are examples of several images taken from a wearableextended reality appliance at different times depicting the movement ofa physical marking implement with respect to an object, consistent withsome embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 52 is a schematic illustration of two individuals viewing andinteracting with the same virtual color markings on the same object,consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 53 is a schematic illustration of an individual holding a physicalmarking implement and a plurality of individuals in a remote locationinteracting with the same virtual color markings on the same object,consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 54 is a schematic illustration of an individual viewing a virtualcolor marking on an object made by an individual holding a physicalmarking implement who has since left the environment of the object,consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 55 is a schematic illustration depicting an extended realitydisplay object adjacent a hand holding a physical marking implement anda virtual color palette, consistent with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 56 is a flowchart of a process for making virtual colored markingson objects, consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 57 illustrates an example of a plurality of wearable extendedreality appliances with individual, unaligned coordinate systems,consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 58 illustrates an example of a plurality of wearable extendedreality appliances with a common coordinate system, consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 59 illustrates an example of an additional wearable extendedreality appliance joining a plurality of wearable extended realityappliances, where the additional appliance has a coordinate system notaligned with the common coordinate system, consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 60 illustrates an example of an additional wearable extendedreality appliance having a common coordinate system with a plurality ofwearable extended reality appliances, consistent with some embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 61 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method that may beexecuted by a processor to perform operations for sharing virtualcontent.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawingsand the following description to refer to the same or similar parts.While several illustrative embodiments are described herein,modifications, adaptations and other implementations are possible. Forexample, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to thecomponents illustrated in the drawings, and the illustrative methodsdescribed herein may be modified by substituting, reordering, removing,or adding steps to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, the followingdetailed description is not limited to the specific embodiments andexamples, but is inclusive of general principles described herein andillustrated in the figures in addition to the general principlesencompassed by the appended claims.

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for providingusers an extended reality environment. The term “extended realityenvironment,” which may also be referred to as “extended reality.”“extended reality space,” or “extended environment,” refers to all typesof real- and-virtual combined environments and human-machineinteractions at least partially generated by computer technology. Theextended reality environment may be a completely simulated virtualenvironment or a combined real- and-virtual environment that a user mayperceive from different perspectives. In some examples, the user mayinteract with elements of the extended reality environment. Onenon-limiting example of an extended reality environment may be a virtualreality environment, also known as “virtual reality” or a “virtualenvironment.” An immersive virtual reality environment may be asimulated non-physical environment which provides to the user theperception of being present in the virtual environment. Anothernon-limiting example of an extended reality environment may be anaugmented reality environment, also known as “augmented reality” or“augmented environment.” An augmented reality environment may involvelive direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment thatis enhanced with virtual computer-generated perceptual information, suchas virtual objects that the user may interact with. Another non-limitingexample of an extended reality environment is a mixed realityenvironment, also known as “mixed reality” or a “mixed environment.” Amixed reality environment may be a hybrid of physical real-world andvirtual environments, in which physical and virtual objects may coexistand interact in real time. In some examples, both augmented realityenvironments and mixed reality environments may include a combination ofreal and virtual worlds, real-time interactions, and accurate 3Dregistration of virtual and real objects. In some examples, bothaugmented reality environment and mixed reality environments may includeconstructive overlaid sensory information that may be added to thephysical environment. In other examples, both augmented realityenvironment and mixed reality environments may include destructivevirtual content that may mask at least part of the physical environment.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods may provide the extendedreality environment using an extended reality appliance. The termextended reality appliance may include any type of device or system thatenables a user to perceive and/or interact with an extended realityenvironment. The extended reality appliance may enable the user toperceive and/or interact with an extended reality environment throughone or more sensory modalities. Some non-limiting examples of suchsensory modalities may include visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory,and olfactory. One example of the extended reality appliance is avirtual reality appliance that enables the user to perceive and/orinteract with a virtual reality environment. Another example of theextended reality appliance is an augmented reality appliance thatenables the user to perceive and/or interact with an augmented realityenvironment. Yet another example of the extended reality appliance is amixed reality appliance that enables the user to perceive and/orinteract with a mixed reality environment.

Consistent with one aspect of the disclosure, the extended realityappliance may be a wearable device, such as a head-mounted device, forexample, smart glasses, smart contact lens, headsets or any other deviceworn by a human for purposes of presenting an extended reality to thehuman. Other extended reality appliances may include holographicprojector or any other device or system capable of providing anaugmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), or anyimmersive experience. Typical components of wearable extended realityappliances may include at least one of: a stereoscopic head-mounteddisplay, a stereoscopic head-mounted sound system, head-motion trackingsensors (such as gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, imagesensors, structured light sensors, etc.), head mounted projectors,eye-tracking sensors, and additional components described below.Consistent with another aspect of the disclosure, the extended realityappliance may be a non-wearable extended reality appliance.Specifically, the non-wearable extended reality appliance may includemulti-projected environment appliances. In some embodiments, an extendedreality appliance may be configured to change the viewing perspective ofthe extended reality environment in response to movements of the userand in response to head movements of the user in particular. In oneexample, a wearable extended reality appliance may change thefield-of-view of the extended reality environment in response to achange of the head pose of the user, such as by changing the spatialorientation without changing the spatial position of the user in theextended reality environment. In another example, a non-wearableextended reality appliance may change the spatial position of the userin the extended reality environment in response to a change in theposition of the user in the real world, for example, by changing thespatial position of the user in the extended reality environment withoutchanging the direction of the field-of-view with respect to the spatialposition.

According to some embodiments, an extended reality appliance may includea digital communication device configured to at least one of: receivingvirtual content data configured to enable a presentation of the virtualcontent, transmitting virtual content for sharing with at least oneexternal device, receiving contextual data from at least one externaldevice, transmitting contextual data to at least one external device,transmitting of usage data indicative of usage of the extended realityappliance, and transmitting of data based on information captured usingat least one sensor included in the extended reality appliance. Inadditional embodiments, the extended reality appliance may includememory for storing at least one of virtual data configured to enable apresentation of virtual content, contextual data, usage data indicativeof usage of the extended reality appliance, sensor data based oninformation captured using at least one sensor included in the extendedreality appliance, software instructions configured to cause aprocessing device to present the virtual content, software instructionsconfigured to cause a processing device to collect and analyze thecontextual data, software instructions configured to cause a processingdevice to collect and analyze the usage data, and software instructionsconfigured to cause a processing device to collect and analyze thesensor data. In additional embodiments, the extended reality appliancemay include a processing device configured to perform at least one ofrendering of virtual content, collecting and analyzing contextual data,collecting and analyzing usage data, and collecting and analyzing sensordata. In additional embodiments, the extended reality appliance mayinclude one or more sensors. The one or more sensors may include one ormore image sensors (e.g., configured to capture images and/or videos ofa user of the appliance or of an environment of the user), one or moremotion sensors (such as an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer,etc.), one or more positioning sensors (such as GPS, outdoor positioningsensor, indoor positioning sensor, etc.), one or more temperaturesensors (e.g., configured to measure the temperature of at least part ofthe appliance and/or of the environment), one or more contact sensors,one or more proximity sensors (e.g., configured to detect whether theappliance is currently worn), one or more electrical impedance sensors(e.g., configured to measure electrical impedance of the user), one ormore eye tracking sensors, such as gaze detectors, optical trackers,electric potential trackers (e.g., electrooculogram (EOG) sensors),video-based eye-trackers, infra-red/near infra-red sensors, passivelight sensors, or any other technology capable of determining where ahuman is looking or gazing.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods may use an input device tointeract with the extended reality appliance. The term input device mayinclude any physical device configured to receive input from a user oran environment of the user, and to provide the data to a computationaldevice. The data provided to the computational device may be in adigital format and/or in an analog format. In one embodiment, the inputdevice may store the input received from the user in a memory deviceaccessible by a processing device, and the processing device may accessthe stored data for analysis. In another embodiment, the input devicemay provide the data directly to a processing device, for example, overa bus or over another communication system configured to transfer datafrom the input device to the processing device. In some examples, theinput received by the input device may include key presses, tactileinput data, motion data, position data, gestures based input data,direction data, or any other data for supply for computation. Someexamples of the input device may include a button, a key, a keyboard, acomputer mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a joystick, or anothermechanism from which input may be received. Another example of an inputdevice may include an integrated computational interface device thatincludes at least one physical component for receiving input from auser. The integrated computational interface device may include at leasta memory, a processing device, and the at least one physical componentfor receiving input from a user. In one example, the integratedcomputational interface device may further include a digital networkinterface that enables digital communication with other computingdevices. In one example, the integrated computational interface devicemay further include a physical component for outputting information tothe user. In some examples, all components of the integratedcomputational interface device may be included in a single housing,while in other examples the components may be distributed among two ormore housings. Some non-limiting examples of physical components forreceiving input from users that may be included in the integratedcomputational interface device may include at least one of a button, akey, a keyboard, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a joystick, or any othermechanism or sensor from which computational information may bereceived. Some non-limiting examples of physical components foroutputting information to users may include at least one of a lightindicator (such as a LED indicator), a screen, a touchscreen, a beeper,an audio speaker, or any other audio, video, or haptic device thatprovides human-perceptible outputs.

In some embodiments, image data may be captured using one or more imagesensors. In some examples, the image sensors may be included in theextended reality appliance, in a wearable device, in the wearableextended reality device, in the input device, in an environment of auser, and so forth. In some examples, the image data may be read frommemory, may be received from an external device, may be generated (forexample, using a generative model), and so forth. Some non-limitingexamples of image data may include images, grayscale images, colorimages, 2D images, 3D images, videos, 2D videos, 3D videos, frames,footages, data derived from other image data, and so forth. In someexamples, the image data may be encoded in any analog or digital format.Some non-limiting examples of such formats may include raw formats,compressed formats, uncompressed formats, lossy formats, losslessformats, JPEG. GIF, PNG, TIFF, BMP, NTSC, PAL, SECAM, MPEG, MPEG-4 Part14, MOV, WMV, FLV, AVI, AVCHD, WebM, MKV, and so forth.

In some embodiments, the extended reality appliance may receive digitalsignals, for example, from the input device. The term digital signalsrefers to a series of digital values that are discrete in time. Thedigital signals may represent, for example, sensor data, textual data,voice data, video data, virtual data, or any other form of data thatprovides perceptible information. Consistent with the presentdisclosure, the digital signals may be configured to cause the extendedreality appliance to present virtual content. In one embodiment, thevirtual content may be presented in a selected orientation. In thisembodiment, the digital signals may indicate a position and an angle ofa viewpoint in an environment, such as an extended reality environment.Specifically, the digital signals may include an encoding of theposition and angle in six degree-of-freedom coordinates (e.g.,forward/back, up/down, left/right, yaw, pitch, and roll). In anotherembodiment, the digital signals may include an encoding of the positionas three-dimensional coordinates (e.g., x, y, and z), and an encoding ofthe angle as a vector originating from the encoded position.Specifically, the digital signals may indicate the orientation and anangle of the presented virtual content in an absolute coordinates of theenvironment, for example, by encoding yaw, pitch and roll of the virtualcontent with respect to a standard default angle. In another embodiment,the digital signals may indicate the orientation and the angle of thepresented virtual content with respect to a viewpoint of another object(e.g., a virtual object, a physical object, etc.), for example, byencoding yaw, pitch, and roll of the virtual content with respect adirection corresponding to the viewpoint or to a direction correspondingto the other object. In another embodiment, such digital signals mayinclude one or more projections of the virtual content, for example, ina format ready for presentation (e.g., image, video, etc.). For example,each such projection may correspond to a particular orientation or aparticular angle. In another embodiment, the digital signals may includea representation of virtual content, for example, by encoding objects ina three-dimensional array of voxels, in a polygon mesh, or in any otherformat in which virtual content may be presented.

In some embodiments, the digital signals may be configured to cause theextended reality appliance to present virtual content. The term virtualcontent may include any type of data representation that may bedisplayed by the extended reality appliance to the user. The virtualcontent may include a virtual object, inanimate virtual content, animatevirtual content configured to change over time or in response totriggers, virtual two-dimensional content, virtual three-dimensionalcontent, a virtual overlay over a portion of a physical environment orover a physical object, a virtual addition to a physical environment orto a physical object, a virtual promotion content, a virtualrepresentation of a physical object, a virtual representation of aphysical environment, a virtual document, a virtual character orpersona, a virtual computer screen, a virtual widget, or any otherformat for displaying information virtually. Consistent with the presentdisclosure, the virtual content may include any visual presentationrendered by a computer or a processing device. In one embodiment, thevirtual content may include a virtual object that is a visualpresentation rendered by a computer in a confined region and configuredto represent an object of a particular type (such as an inanimatevirtual object, an animate virtual object, virtual furniture, a virtualdecorative object, virtual widget, or other virtual representation). Therendered visual presentation may change to reflect changes to a statusobject or changes in the viewing angle of the object, for example, in away that mimics changes in the appearance of physical objects. Inanother embodiment, the virtual content may include a virtual display(also referred to as a “virtual display screen” or a “virtual screen”herein), such as a virtual computer screen, a virtual tablet screen or avirtual smartphone screen, configured to display information generatedby an operating system, in which the operating system may be configuredto receive textual data from a physical keyboard and/or a virtualkeyboard and to cause a display of the textual content in the virtualdisplay screen. In one example, illustrated in FIG. 1, the virtualcontent may include a virtual environment that includes a virtualcomputer screen and a plurality of virtual objects. In some examples, avirtual display may be a virtual object mimicking and/or extending thefunctionality of a physical display screen. For example, the virtualdisplay may be presented in an extended reality environment (such as amixed reality environment, an augmented reality environment, a virtualreality environment, etc.), using an extended reality appliance. In oneexample, a virtual display may present content produced by a regularoperating system that may be equally presented on a physical displayscreen. In one example, a textual content entered using a keyboard (forexample, using a physical keyboard, using a virtual keyboard, etc.) maybe presented on a virtual display in real time as the textual content istyped. In one example, a virtual cursor may be presented on a virtualdisplay, and the virtual cursor may be controlled by a pointing device(such as a physical pointing device, a virtual pointing device, acomputer mouse, a joystick, a touchpad, a physical touch controller, andso forth). In one example, one or more windows of a graphical userinterface operating system may be presented on a virtual display. Inanother example, content presented on a virtual display may beinteractive, that is, it may change in reaction to actions of users. Inyet another example, a presentation of a virtual display may include apresentation of a screen frame, or may include no presentation of ascreen frame.

Some disclosed embodiments may include and/or access a data structure ora database. The terms data structure and a database, consistent with thepresent disclosure may include any collection of data values andrelationships among them. The data may be stored linearly, horizontally,hierarchically, relationally, non-relationally, uni-dimensionally,multidimensionally, operationally, in an ordered manner, in an unorderedmanner, in an object-oriented manner, in a centralized manner, in adecentralized manner, in a distributed manner, in a custom manner, or inany manner enabling data access. By way of non-limiting examples, datastructures may include an array, an associative array, a linked list, abinary tree, a balanced tree, a heap, a stack, a queue, a set, a hashtable, a record, a tagged union, Entity-Relationship model, a graph, ahypergraph, a matrix, a tensor, and so forth. For example, a datastructure may include an XML database, an RDBMS database, an SQLdatabase or NoSQL alternatives for data storage/search such as, forexample, MongoDB, Redis, Couchbase, Datastax Enterprise Graph, ElasticSearch, Splunk, Solr, Cassandra, Amazon DynamoDB, Scylla, HBase, andNeo4J. A data structure may be a component of the disclosed system or aremote computing component (e.g., a cloud-based data structure). Data inthe data structure may be stored in contiguous or non-contiguous memory.Moreover, a data structure does not require information to beco-located. It may be distributed across multiple servers, for example,that may be owned or operated by the same or different entities. Thus,the term data structure in the singular is inclusive of plural datastructures.

In some embodiments, the system may determine the confidence level inreceived input or in any determined value. The term confidence levelrefers to any indication, numeric or otherwise, of a level (e.g., withina predetermined range) indicative of an amount of confidence the systemhas at determined data. For example, the confidence level may have avalue between 1 and 10. Alternatively, the confidence level may beexpressed as a percentage or any other numerical or non-numericalindication. In some cases, the system may compare the confidence levelto a threshold. The term threshold may denote a reference value, alevel, a point, or a range of values. In operation, when the confidencelevel of determined data exceeds the threshold (or is below it,depending on a particular use case), the system may follow a firstcourse of action and, when the confidence level is below it (or aboveit, depending on a particular use case), the system may follow a secondcourse of action. The value of the threshold may be predetermined foreach type of examined object or may be dynamically selected based ondifferent considerations.

System Overview

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which illustrates a user that uses anexample extended reality system consistent with various embodiments ofthe present disclosure. FIG. 1 is an exemplary representation of justone embodiment, and it is to be understood that some illustratedelements might be omitted and others added within the scope of thisdisclosure. As shown, a user 100 is sitting behind table 102, supportinga keyboard 104 and mouse 106. Keyboard 104 is connected by wire 108 to awearable extended reality appliance 110 that displays virtual content touser 100. Alternatively or additionally to wire 108, keyboard 104 mayconnect to wearable extended reality appliance 110 wirelessly. Forillustration purposes, the wearable extended reality appliance isdepicted as a pair of smart glasses, but, as described above, wearableextended reality appliance 110 may be any type of head-mounted deviceused for presenting an extended reality to user 100. The virtual contentdisplayed by wearable extended reality appliance 110 includes a virtualscreen 112 (also referred to as a “virtual display screen” or a “virtualdisplay” herein) and a plurality of virtual widgets 114. Virtual widgets114A-114D are displayed next to virtual screen 112 and virtual widget114E is displayed on table 102. User 100 may input text to a document116 displayed in virtual screen 112 using keyboard 104; and may controlvirtual cursor 118 using mouse 106. In one example, virtual cursor 118may move anywhere within virtual screen 112. In another example, virtualcursor 118 may move anywhere within virtual screen 112 and may also moveto any one of virtual widgets 114A-114D but not to virtual widget 114E.In yet another example, virtual cursor 118 may move anywhere withinvirtual screen 112 and may also move to any one of virtual widgets114A-114E. In an additional example, virtual cursor 118 may moveanywhere in the extended reality environment including virtual screen112 and virtual widgets 114A-114E. In yet another example, virtualcursor may move on all available surfaces (i.e., virtual surfaces orphysical surfaces) or only on selected surfaces in the extended realityenvironment. Alternatively or additionally, user 100 may interact withany one of virtual widgets 114A-114E, or with selected virtual widgets,using hand gestures recognized by wearable extended reality appliance110. For example, virtual widget 114E may be an interactive widget(e.g., a virtual slider controller) that may be operated with handgestures.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a system 200 that provides extendedreality (XR) experience to users, such as user 100. FIG. 2 is anexemplary representation of just one embodiment, and it is to beunderstood that some illustrated elements might be omitted and othersadded within the scope of this disclosure. System 200 may becomputer-based and may include computer system components, wearableappliances, workstations, tablets, handheld computing devices, memorydevices, and/or internal network(s) connecting the components. System200 may include or be connected to various network computing resources(e.g., servers, routers, switches, network connections, storage devices,etc.) for supporting services provided by system 200. Consistent withthe present disclosure, system 200 may include an input unit 202, an XRunit 204, a mobile communications device 206, and a remote processingunit 208. Remote processing unit 208 may include a server 210 coupled toone or more physical or virtual storage devices, such as a datastructure 212. System 200 may also include or be connected to acommunications network 214 that facilitates communications and dataexchange between different system components and the different entitiesassociated with system 200.

Consistent with the present disclosure, input unit 202 may include oneor more devices that may receive input from user 100. In one embodiment,input unit 202 may include a textual input device, such as keyboard 104.The textual input device may include all possible types of devices andmechanisms for inputting textual information to system 200. Examples oftextual input devices may include mechanical keyboards, membranekeyboards, flexible keyboards, QWERTY keyboards, Dvorak keyboards,Colemak keyboards, chorded keyboards, wireless keyboards, keypads,key-based control panels, or other arrays of control keys, vision inputdevices, or any other mechanism for inputting text, whether themechanism is provided in physical form or is presented virtually. In oneembodiment, input unit 202 may also include a pointing input device,such as mouse 106. The pointing input device may include all possibletypes of devices and mechanisms for inputting two-dimensional orthree-dimensional information to system 200. In one example,two-dimensional input from the pointing input device may be used forinteracting with virtual content presented via the XR unit 204. Examplesof pointing input devices may include a computer mouse, trackball,touchpad, trackpad, touchscreen, joystick, pointing stick, stylus, lightpen, or any other physical or virtual input mechanism. In oneembodiment, input unit 202 may also include a graphical input device,such as a touchscreen configured to detect contact, movement, or breakof movement. The graphical input device may use any of a plurality oftouch sensitivity technologies, including, but not limited to,capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologiesas well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements fordetermining one or more points of contact. In one embodiment, input unit202 may also include one or more voice input devices, such as amicrophone. The voice input device may include all possible types ofdevices and mechanisms for inputting voice data to facilitatevoice-enabled functions, such as voice recognition, voice replication,digital recording, and telephony functions. In one embodiment, inputunit 202 may also include one or more image input devices, such as animage sensor, configured to capture image data. In one embodiment, inputunit 202 may also include one or more haptic gloves configured tocapture hands motion and pose data. In one embodiment, input unit 202may also include one or more proximity sensors configured to detectpresence and/or movement of objects in a selected region near thesensors.

In accordance with some embodiments, the system may include at least onesensor configured to detect and/or measure a property associated withthe user, the user's action, or user's environment. One example of theat least one sensor, is sensor 216 included in input unit 202. Sensor216 may be a motion sensor, a touch sensor, a light sensor, an infraredsensor, an audio sensor, an image sensor, a proximity sensor, apositioning sensor, a gyroscope, a temperature sensor, a biometricsensor, or any other sensing devices to facilitate relatedfunctionalities. Sensor 216 may be integrated with, or connected to, theinput devices or it may be separated from the input devices. In oneexample, a thermometer may be included in mouse 106 to determine thebody temperature of user 100. In another example, a positioning sensormay be integrated with keyboard 104 to determine movement of user 100relative to keyboard 104. Such positioning sensor may be implementedusing one of the following technologies: Global Positioning System(GPS), GLObal NAvigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo globalnavigation system, BeiDou navigation system, other Global NavigationSatellite Systems (GNSS), Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System(IRNSS), Local Positioning Systems (LPS), Real-Time Location Systems(RTLS), Indoor Positioning System (IPS), Wi-Fi based positioningsystems, cellular triangulation, image based positioning technology,indoor positioning technology, outdoor positioning technology, or anyother positioning technology.

In accordance with some embodiments, the system may include one or moresensors for identifying a position and/or a movement of a physicaldevice (such as a physical input device, a physical computing device,keyboard 104, mouse 106, wearable extended reality appliance 110, and soforth). The one or more sensors may be included in the physical deviceor may be external to the physical device. In some examples, an imagesensor external to the physical device (for example, an image sensorincluded in another physical device) may be used to capture image dataof the physical device, and the image data may be analyzed to identifythe position and/or the movement of the physical device. For example,the image data may be analyzed using a visual object tracking algorithmto identify the movement of the physical device, may be analyzed using avisual object detection algorithm to identify the position of thephysical device (for example, relative to the image sensor, in a globalcoordinates system, etc.), and so forth. In some examples, an imagesensor included in the physical device may be used to capture imagedata, and the image data may be analyzed to identify the position and/orthe movement of the physical device. For example, the image data may beanalyzed using visual odometry algorithms to identify the position ofthe physical device, may be analyzed using an ego-motion algorithm toidentify movement of the physical device, and so forth. In someexamples, a positioning sensor, such as an indoor positioning sensor oran outdoor positioning sensor, may be included in the physical deviceand may be used to determine the position of the physical device. Insome examples, a motion sensor, such as an accelerometer or a gyroscope,may be included in the physical device and may be used to determine themotion of the physical device. In some examples, a physical device, suchas a keyboard or a mouse, may be configured to be positioned on aphysical surface. Such physical device may include an optical mousesensor (also known as non-mechanical tracking engine) aimed towards thephysical surface, and the output of the optical mouse sensor may beanalyzed to determine movement of the physical device with respect tothe physical surface.

Consistent with the present disclosure, XR unit 204 may include awearable extended reality appliance configured to present virtualcontent to user 100. One example of the wearable extended realityappliance is wearable extended reality appliance 110. Additionalexamples of wearable extended reality appliance may include a VirtualReality (VR) device, an Augmented Reality (AR) device, a Mixed Reality(MR) device, or any other device capable of generating extended realitycontent. Some non-limiting examples of such devices may include NrealLight, Magic Leap One, Varjo, Quest 1/2, Vive, and others. In someembodiments, XR unit 204 may present virtual content to user 100.Generally, an extended reality appliance may include all real-and-virtual combined environments and human-machine interactionsgenerated by computer technology and wearables. As mentioned above, theterm “extended reality” (XR) refers to a superset which includes theentire spectrum from “the complete real” to “the complete virtual.” Itincludes representative forms such as augmented reality (AR), mixedreality (MR), virtual reality (VR), and the areas interpolated amongthem. Accordingly, it is noted that the terms “XR appliance,” “ARappliance,” “VR appliance,” and “MR appliance” may be usedinterchangeably herein and may refer to any device of the variety ofappliances listed above.

Consistent with the present disclosure, the system may exchange datawith a variety of communication devices associated with users, forexample, mobile communications device 206. The term “communicationdevice” is intended to include all possible types of devices capable ofexchanging data using digital communications network, analogcommunication network or any other communications network configured toconvey data. In some examples, the communication device may include asmartphone, a tablet, a smartwatch, a personal digital assistant, adesktop computer, a laptop computer, an IoT device, a dedicatedterminal, a wearable communication device, and any other device thatenables data communications. In some cases, mobile communications device206 may supplement or replace input unit 202. Specifically, mobilecommunications device 206 may be associated with a physical touchcontroller that may function as a pointing input device. Moreover,mobile communications device 206 may also, for example, be used toimplement a virtual keyboard and replace the textual input device. Forexample, when user 100 steps away from table 102 and walks to the breakroom with his smart glasses, he may receive an email that requires aquick answer. In this case, the user may select to use his or her ownsmartwatch as the input device and to type the answer to the email whileit is virtually presented by the smart glasses.

Consistent with the present disclosure, embodiments of the system mayinvolve the usage of a cloud server. The term “cloud server” refers to acomputer platform that provides services via a network, such as theInternet. In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, server 210may use virtual machines that may not correspond to individual hardware.For example, computational and/or storage capabilities may beimplemented by allocating appropriate portions of desirablecomputation/storage power from a scalable repository, such as a datacenter or a distributed computing environment. Specifically, in oneembodiment, remote processing unit 208 may be used together with XR unit204 to provide the virtual content to user 100. In one exampleconfiguration, server 210 may be a cloud server that functions as theoperation system (OS) of the wearable extended reality appliance. In oneexample, server 210 may implement the methods described herein usingcustomized hard-wired logic, one or more Application Specific IntegratedCircuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), firmware,and/or program logic which, in combination with the computer system,cause server 210 to be a special-purpose machine.

In some embodiments, server 210 may access data structure 212 todetermine, for example, virtual content to display user 100. Datastructure 212 may utilize a volatile or non-volatile, magnetic,semiconductor, tape, optical, removable, non-removable, other type ofstorage device or tangible or non-transitory computer-readable medium,or any medium or mechanism for storing information. Data structure 212may be part of server 210 or separate from server 210, as shown. Whendata structure 212 is not part of server 210, server 210 may exchangedata with data structure 212 via a communication link. Data structure212 may include one or more memory devices that store data andinstructions used to perform one or more features of the disclosedmethods. In one embodiment, data structure 212 may include any of aplurality of suitable data structures, ranging from small datastructures hosted on a workstation to large data structures distributedamong data centers. Data structure 212 may also include any combinationof one or more data structures controlled by memory controller devices(e.g., servers) or software.

Consistent with the present disclosure, communications network may beany type of network (including infrastructure) that supportscommunications, exchanges information, and/or facilitates the exchangeof information between the components of a system. For example,communications network 214 in system 200 may include, for example, atelephone network, an extranet, an intranet, the Internet, satellitecommunications, off-line communications, wireless communications,transponder communications, a Local Area Network (LAN), wireless network(e.g., a Wi-Fi/302.11 network), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a VirtualPrivate Network (VPN), digital communication network, analogcommunication network, or any other mechanism or combinations ofmechanism that enable data transmission.

The components and arrangements of system 200 shown in FIG. 2 areintended to be exemplary only and are not intended to limit anyembodiment, as the system components used to implement the disclosedprocesses and features may vary.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary configuration of input unit202. FIG. 3 is an exemplary representation of just one embodiment, andit is to be understood that some illustrated elements might be omittedand others added within the scope of this disclosure. In the embodimentof FIG. 3, input unit 202 may directly or indirectly access a bus 300(or other communication mechanism) that interconnects subsystems andcomponents for transferring information within input unit 202. Forexample, bus 300 may interconnect a memory interface 310, a networkinterface 320, an input interface 330, a power source 340, an outputinterface 350, a processing device 360, a sensors interface 370, and adatabase 380.

Memory interface 310, shown in FIG. 3, may be used to access a softwareproduct and/or data stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium.Generally, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium refers toany type of physical memory on which information or data readable by atleast one processor can be stored. Examples include Random Access Memory(RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, harddrives, CD ROMs, DVDs, flash drives, disks, any other optical datastorage medium, any physical medium with patterns of holes, a PROM, anEPROM, a FLASH-EPROM or any other flash memory, NVRAM, a cache, aregister, any other memory chip or cartridge, and networked versions ofthe same. The terms “memory” and “computer-readable storage medium” mayrefer to multiple structures, such as a plurality of memories orcomputer-readable storage mediums located within an input unit or at aremote location. Additionally, one or more computer-readable storagemediums can be utilized in implementing a computer-implemented method.Accordingly, the term computer-readable storage medium should beunderstood to include tangible items and exclude carrier waves andtransient signals. In the specific embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3,memory interface 310 may be used to access a software product and/ordata stored on a memory device, such as memory device 311. Memory device311 may include high-speed random-access memory and/or non-volatilememory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or moreoptical storage devices, and/or flash memory (e.g., NAND, NOR).Consistent with the present disclosure, the components of memory device311 may be distributed in more than units of system 200 and/or in morethan one memory device.

Memory device 311, shown in FIG. 3, may contain software modules toexecute processes consistent with the present disclosure. In particular,memory device 311 may include an input determination module 312, anoutput determination module 313, a sensors communication module 314, avirtual content determination module 315, a virtual contentcommunication module 316, and a database access module 317. Modules312-317 may contain software instructions for execution by at least oneprocessor (e.g., processing device 360) associated with input unit 202.Input determination module 312, output determination module 313, sensorscommunication module 314, virtual content determination module 315,virtual content communication module 316, and database access module 317may cooperate to perform various operations. For example, inputdetermination module 312 may determine text using data received from,for example, keyboard 104. Thereafter, output determination module 313may cause presentation of the recent inputted text, for example on adedicated display 352 physically or wirelessly coupled to keyboard 104.This way, when user 100 types, he can see a preview of the typed textwithout constantly moving his head up and down to look at virtual screen112. Sensors communication module 314 may receive data from differentsensors to determine a status of user 100. Thereafter, virtual contentdetermination module 315 may determine the virtual content to display,based on received input and the determined status of user 100. Forexample, the determined virtual content may be a virtual presentation ofthe recent inputted text on a virtual screen virtually located adjacentto keyboard 104. Virtual content communication module 316 may obtainvirtual content that is not determined by virtual content determinationmodule 315 (e.g., an avatar of another user). The retrieval of thevirtual content may be from database 380, from remote processing unit208, or any other source.

In some embodiments, input determination module 312 may regulate theoperation of input interface 330 in order to receive pointer input 331,textual input 332, audio input 333, and XR-related input 334. Details onthe pointer input, the textual input, and the audio input are describedabove. The term “XR-related input” may include any type of data that maycause a change in the virtual content displayed to user 100. In oneembodiment, XR-related input 334 may include image data of user 100, awearable extended reality appliance (e.g., detected hand gestures ofuser 100). In another embodiment, XR-related input 334 may includewireless communication indicating a presence of another user inproximity to user 100. Consistent with the present disclosure, inputdetermination module 312 may concurrently receive different types ofinput data. Thereafter, input determination module 312 may further applydifferent rules based on the detected type of input. For example, apointer input may have precedence over voice input.

In some embodiments, output determination module 313 may regulate theoperation of output interface 350 in order to generate output usinglight indicators 351, display 352, and/or speakers 353. In general, theoutput generated by output determination module 313 does not includevirtual content to be presented by a wearable extended realityappliance. Instead, the output generated by output determination module313 include various outputs that relates to the operation of input unit202 and/or the operation of XR unit 204. In one embodiment, lightindicators 351 may include a light indicator that shows the status of awearable extended reality appliance. For example, the light indicatormay display green light when wearable extended reality appliance 110 areconnected to keyboard 104, and blinks when wearable extended realityappliance 110 has low battery. In another embodiment, display 352 may beused to display operational information. For example, the display maypresent error messages when the wearable extended reality appliance isinoperable. In another embodiment, speakers 353 may be used to outputaudio, for example, when user 100 wishes to play some music for otherusers.

In some embodiments, sensors communication module 314 may regulate theoperation of sensors interface 370 in order to receive sensor data fromone or more sensors, integrated with, or connected to, an input device.The one or more sensors may include: audio sensor 371, image sensor 372,motion sensor 373, environmental sensor 374 (e.g., a temperature sensor,ambient light detectors, etc.), and other sensors 375. In oneembodiment, the data received from sensors communication module 314 maybe used to determine the physical orientation of the input device. Thephysical orientation of the input device may be indicative of a state ofthe user and may be determined based on combination of a till movement,a roll movement, and a lateral movement. Thereafter, the physicalorientation of the input device may be used by virtual contentdetermination module 315 to modify display parameters of the virtualcontent to match the state of the user (e.g., attention, sleepy, active,sitting, standing, leaning backwards, leaning forward, walking, moving,riding, etc.).

In some embodiments, virtual content determination module 315 maydetermine the virtual content to be displayed by the wearable extendedreality appliance. The virtual content may be determined based on datafrom input determination module 312, sensors communication module 314,and other sources (e.g., database 380). In some embodiments, determiningthe virtual content may include determining the distance, the size, andthe orientation of the virtual objects. The determination of theposition of the virtual objects may be determined based on the type ofthe virtual objects. Specifically, with regards to the exampleillustrated in FIG. 1, the virtual content determination module 315 maydetermine to place four virtual widgets 114A-114D on the sides ofvirtual screen 112 and to place virtual widget 114E on table 102 becausevirtual widget 114E is a virtual controller (e.g., volume bar). Thedetermination of the position of the virtual objects may further bedetermined based on user's preferences. For example, for left-handedusers, virtual content determination module 315 may determine placing avirtual volume bar left of keyboard 104; and for right-handed users,virtual content determination module 315 may determine placing thevirtual volume bar right of keyboard 104.

In some embodiments, virtual content communication module 316 mayregulate the operation of network interface 320 in order to obtain datafrom one or more sources to be presented as virtual content to user 100.The one or more sources may include other XR units 204, the user'smobile communications device 206, remote processing unit 208, publiclyavailable information, etc. In one embodiment, virtual contentcommunication module 316 may communicate with mobile communicationsdevice 206 in order to provide a virtual representation of mobilecommunications device 206. For example, the virtual representation mayenable user 100 to read messages and interact with applicationsinstalled on the mobile communications device 206. Virtual contentcommunication module 316 may also regulate the operation of networkinterface 320 in order to share virtual content with other users. In oneexample, virtual content communication module 316 may use data frominput determination module to identify a trigger (e.g., the trigger mayinclude a gesture of the user) and to transfer content from the virtualdisplay to a physical display (e.g., TV) or to a virtual display of adifferent user.

In some embodiments, database access module 317 may cooperate withdatabase 380 to retrieve stored data. The retrieved data may include,for example, privacy levels associated with different virtual objects,the relationship between virtual objects and physical objects, theuser's preferences, the user's past behavior, and more. As describedabove, virtual content determination module 315 may use the data storedin database 380 to determine the virtual content. Database 380 mayinclude separate databases, including, for example, a vector database,raster database, tile database, viewport database, and/or a user inputdatabase. The data stored in database 380 may be received from modules314-317 or other components of system 200. Moreover, the data stored indatabase 380 may be provided as input using data entry, data transfer,or data uploading.

Modules 312-317 may be implemented in software, hardware, firmware, amix of any of those, or the like. In some embodiments, any one or moreof modules 312-317 and data associated with database 380 may be storedin XR unit 204, mobile communications device 206, or remote processingunit 208. Processing devices of system 200 may be configured to executethe instructions of modules 312-317. In some embodiments, aspects ofmodules 312-317 may be implemented in hardware, in software (includingin one or more signal processing and/or application specific integratedcircuits), in firmware, or in any combination thereof, executable by oneor more processors, alone, or in various combinations with each other.Specifically, modules 312-317 may be configured to interact with eachother and/or other modules of system 200 to perform functions consistentwith Some disclosed embodiments. For example, input unit 202 may executeinstructions that include an image processing algorithm on data from XRunit 204 to determine head movement of user 100. Furthermore, eachfunctionality described throughout the specification, with regards toinput unit 202 or with regards to a component of input unit 202, maycorrespond to a set of instructions for performing said functionality.These instructions need not be implemented as separate softwareprograms, procedures, or modules. Memory device 311 may includeadditional modules and instructions or fewer modules and instructions.For example, memory device 311 may store an operating system, such asANDROID, iOS, UNIX, OSX, WINDOWS, DARWIN, RTXC, LINUX or an embeddedoperating system such as VXWorkS. The operating system can includeinstructions for handling basic system services and for performinghardware-dependent tasks.

Network interface 320, shown in FIG. 3, may provide two-way datacommunications to a network, such as communications network 214. In oneembodiment, network interface 320 may include an Integrated ServicesDigital Network (ISDN) card, cellular modem, satellite modem, or a modemto provide a data communication connection over the Internet. As anotherexample, network interface 320 may include a Wireless Local Area Network(WLAN) card. In another embodiment, network interface 320 may include anEthernet port connected to radio frequency receivers and transmittersand/or optical (e.g., infrared) receivers and transmitters. The specificdesign and implementation of network interface 320 may depend on thecommunications network or networks over which input unit 202 is intendedto operate. For example, in some embodiments, input unit 202 may includenetwork interface 320 designed to operate over a GSM network, a GPRSnetwork, an EDGE network, a Wi-Fi or WiMax network, and a Bluetoothnetwork. In any such implementation, network interface 320 may beconfigured to send and receive electrical, electromagnetic, or opticalsignals that carry digital data streams or digital signals representingvarious types of information.

Input interface 330, shown in FIG. 3, may receive input from a varietyof input devices, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch pad, a touchscreen, one or more buttons, a joystick, a microphone, an image sensor,and any other device configured to detect physical or virtual input. Thereceived input may be in the form of at least one of: text, sounds,speech, hand gestures, body gestures, tactile information, and any othertype of physically or virtually input generated by the user. In thedepicted embodiment, input interface 330 may receive pointer input 331,textual input 332, audio input 333, and XR-related input 334. Inadditional embodiment, input interface 330 may be an integrated circuitthat may act as bridge between processing device 360 and any of theinput devices listed above.

Power source 340, shown in FIG. 3, may provide electrical energy topower input unit 202 and optionally also power XR unit 204. Generally, apower source included in the any device or system in the presentdisclosure may be any device that can repeatedly store, dispense, orconvey electric power, including, but not limited to, one or morebatteries (e.g., a lead-acid battery, a lithium-ion battery, anickel-metal hydride battery, a nickel-cadmium battery), one or morecapacitors, one or more connections to external power sources, one ormore power convertors, or any combination of them. With reference to theexample illustrated in FIG. 3, the power source may be mobile, whichmeans that input unit 202 can be easily carried by a hand (e.g., thetotal weight of power source 340 may be less than a pound). The mobilityof the power source enables user 100 to use input unit 202 in a varietyof situations. In other embodiments, power source 340 may be associatedwith a connection to an external power source (such as an electricalpower grid) that may be used to charge power source 340. In addition,power source 340 may be configured to charge one or more batteriesincluded in XR unit 204; for example, a pair of extended reality glasses(e.g., wearable extended reality appliance 110) may be charged (e.g.,wirelessly or not wirelessly) when they are placed on or in proximity tothe input unit 202.

Output interface 350, shown in FIG. 3, may cause output from a varietyof output devices, for example, using light indicators 351, display 352,and/or speakers 353. In one embodiment, output interface 350 may be anintegrated circuit that may act as bridge between processing device 360and at least one of the output devices listed above. Light indicators351 may include one or more light sources, for example, a LED arrayassociated with different colors. Display 352 may include a screen(e.g., LCD or dot-matrix screen) or a touch screen. Speakers 353 mayinclude audio headphones, a hearing aid type device, a speaker, a boneconduction headphone, interfaces that provide tactile cues, vibrotactilestimulators, and more.

Processing device 360, shown in FIG. 3, may include at least oneprocessor configured to execute computer programs, applications,methods, processes, or other software to perform embodiments describedin the present disclosure. Generally, a processing device included inthe any device or system in the present disclosure may include one ormore integrated circuits, microchips, microcontrollers, microprocessors,all or part of a central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit(GPU), digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array(FPGA), or other circuits suitable for executing instructions orperforming logic operations. The processing device may include at leastone processor configured to perform functions of the disclosed methodssuch as a microprocessor manufactured by Intel™. The processing devicemay include a single core or multiple core processors executing parallelprocesses simultaneously. In one example, the processing device may be asingle core processor configured with virtual processing technologies.The processing device may implement virtual machine technologies orother technologies to provide the ability to execute, control, run,manipulate, store, etc., multiple software processes, applications,programs, etc. In another example, the processing device may include amultiple-core processor arrangement (e.g., dual, quad core, etc.)configured to provide parallel processing functionalities to allow adevice associated with the processing device to execute multipleprocesses simultaneously. It is appreciated that other types ofprocessor arrangements could be implemented to provide the capabilitiesdisclosed herein.

Sensors interface 370, shown in FIG. 3, may obtain sensor data from avariety of sensors, for example, audio sensor 371, image sensor 372,motion sensor 373, environmental sensor 374, and other sensors 375. Inone embodiment, sensors interface 370 may be an integrated circuit thatmay act as bridge between processing device 360 and at least one of thesensors listed above.

Audio sensor 371 may include one or more audio sensors configured tocapture audio by converting sounds to digital information. Some examplesof audio sensors may include: microphones, unidirectional microphones,bidirectional microphones, cardioid microphones, omnidirectionalmicrophones, onboard microphones, wired microphones, wirelessmicrophones, or any combination of the above. Consistent with thepresent disclosure, processing device 360 may modify a presentation ofvirtual content based on data received from audio sensor 371 (e.g.,voice commands).

Image sensor 372 may include one or more image sensors configured tocapture visual information by converting light to image data. Consistentwith the present disclosure, an image sensor may be included in the anydevice or system in the present disclosure and may be any device capableof detecting and converting optical signals in the near-infrared,infrared, visible, and ultraviolet spectrums into electrical signals.Examples of image sensors may include digital cameras, phone cameras,semiconductor Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs), active pixel sensors inComplementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS), or N-typemetal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS, Live MOS). The electrical signals maybe used to generate image data. Consistent with the present disclosure,the image data may include pixel data streams, digital images, digitalvideo streams, data derived from captured images, and data that may beused to construct one or more 3D images, a sequence of 3D images, 3Dvideos, or a virtual 3D representation. The image data acquired by imagesensor 372 may be transmitted by wired or wireless transmission to anyprocessing device of system 200. For example, the image data may beprocessed in order to: detect objects, detect events, detect action,detect face, detect people, recognize a known person, or any otherinformation that may be used by system 200. Consistent with the presentdisclosure, processing device 360 may modify a presentation of virtualcontent based on image data received from image sensor 372.

Motion sensor 373 may include one or more motion sensors configured tomeasure motion of input unit 202 or motion of objects in the environmentof input unit 202. Specifically, the motion sensors may perform at leastone of the following: detect motion of objects in the environment ofinput unit 202, measure the velocity of objects in the environment ofinput unit 202, measure the acceleration of objects in the environmentof input unit 202, detect the motion of input unit 202, measure thevelocity of input unit 202, measure the acceleration of input unit 202,etc. In some embodiments, motion sensor 373 may include one or moreaccelerometers configured to detect changes in proper accelerationand/or to measure proper acceleration of input unit 202. In otherembodiments, motion sensor 373 may include one or more gyroscopesconfigured to detect changes in the orientation of input unit 202 and/orto measure information related to the orientation of input unit 202. Inother embodiments, motion sensor 373 may include one or more using imagesensors, LIDAR sensors, radar sensors, or proximity sensors. Forexample, by analyzing captured images the processing device maydetermine the motion of input unit 202, for example, using ego-motionalgorithms. In addition, the processing device may determine the motionof objects in the environment of input unit 202, for example, usingobject tracking algorithms. Consistent with the present disclosure,processing device 360 may modify a presentation of virtual content basedon the determined motion of input unit 202 or the determined motion ofobjects in the environment of input unit 202. For example, causing avirtual display to follow the movement of input unit 202.

Environmental sensor 374 may include one or more sensors from differenttypes configured to capture data reflective of the environment of inputunit 202. In some embodiments, environmental sensor 374 may include oneor more chemical sensors configured to perform at least one of thefollowing: measure chemical properties in the environment of input unit202, measure changes in the chemical properties in the environment ofinput unit 202, detect the present of chemicals in the environment ofinput unit 202, measure the concentration of chemicals in theenvironment of input unit 202. Examples of such chemical properties mayinclude: pH level, toxicity, and temperature. Examples of such chemicalsmay include: electrolytes, particular enzymes, particular hormones,particular proteins, smoke, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxygen,ozone, hydrogen, and hydrogen sulfide. In other embodiments,environmental sensor 374 may include one or more temperature sensorsconfigured to detect changes in the temperature of the environment ofinput unit 202 and/or to measure the temperature of the environment ofinput unit 202. In other embodiments, environmental sensor 374 mayinclude one or more barometers configured to detect changes in theatmospheric pressure in the environment of input unit 202 and/or tomeasure the atmospheric pressure in the environment of input unit 202.In other embodiments, environmental sensor 374 may include one or morelight sensors configured to detect changes in the ambient light in theenvironment of input unit 202. Consistent with the present disclosure,processing device 360 may modify a presentation of virtual content basedon input from environmental sensor 374. For example, automaticallyreducing the brightness of the virtual content when the environment ofuser 100 becomes darker.

Other sensors 375 may include a weight sensor, alight sensor, aresistive sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometricsensor, or other sensing devices to facilitate related functionalities.In a specific embodiment, other sensors 375 may include one or morepositioning sensors configured to obtain positioning information ofinput unit 202, to detect changes in the position of input unit 202,and/or to measure the position of input unit 202. Alternatively, GPSsoftware may permit input unit 202 to access an external GPS receiver(e.g., connecting via a serial port or Bluetooth). Consistent with thepresent disclosure, processing device 360 may modify a presentation ofvirtual content based on input from other sensors 375. For example,presenting private information only after identifying user 100 usingdata from a biometric sensor.

The components and arrangements shown in FIG. 3 are not intended tolimit any embodiment. As will be appreciated by a person skilled in theart having the benefit of this disclosure, numerous variations and/ormodifications may be made to the depicted configuration of input unit202. For example, not all components may be essential for the operationof an input unit in all cases. Any component may be located in anyappropriate part of an input unit, and the components may be rearrangedinto a variety of configurations while providing the functionality ofvarious embodiments. For example, some input units may not include allof the elements as shown in input unit 202.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary configuration of XR unit 204.FIG. 4 is an exemplary representation of just one embodiment, and it isto be understood that some illustrated elements might be omitted andothers added within the scope of this disclosure. In the embodiment ofFIG. 4, XR unit 204 may directly or indirectly access a bus 400 (orother communication mechanism) that interconnects subsystems andcomponents for transferring information within XR unit 204. For example,bus 400 may interconnect a memory interface 410, a network interface420, an input interface 430, a power source 440, an output interface450, a processing device 460, a sensors interface 470, and a database480.

Memory interface 410, shown in FIG. 4, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of memory interface 310 describedabove in detail. Memory interface 410 may be used to access a softwareproduct and/or data stored on a non-transitory computer-readable mediumor on memory devices, such as memory device 411. Memory device 411 maycontain software modules to execute processes consistent with thepresent disclosure. In particular, memory device 411 may include aninput determination module 412, an output determination module 413, asensors communication module 414, a virtual content determination module415, a virtual content communication module 416, and a database accessmodule 417. Modules 412-417 may contain software instructions forexecution by at least one processor (e.g., processing device 460)associated with XR unit 204. Input determination module 412, outputdetermination module 413, sensors communication module 414, virtualcontent determination module 415, virtual content communication module416, and database access module 417 may cooperate to perform variousoperations. For example, input determination module 412 may determineUser Interface (UI) input received from input unit 202. At the sametime, sensors communication module 414 may receive data from differentsensors to determine a status of user 100. Virtual content determinationmodule 415 may determine the virtual content to display based onreceived input and the determined status of user 100. Virtual contentcommunication module 416 may retrieve virtual content not determined byvirtual content determination module 415. The retrieval of the virtualcontent may be from database 380, database 480, mobile communicationsdevice 206, or from remote processing unit 208. Based on the output ofvirtual content determination module 415, output determination module413 may cause a change in a virtual content displayed to user 100 byprojector 454.

In some embodiments, input determination module 412 may regulate theoperation of input interface 430 in order to receive gesture input 431,virtual input 432, audio input 433, and UI input 434. Consistent withthe present disclosure, input determination module 412 may concurrentlyreceive different types of input data. In one embodiment, inputdetermination module 412 may apply different rules based on the detectedtype of input. For example, gesture input may have precedence overvirtual input. In some embodiments, output determination module 413 mayregulate the operation of output interface 450 in order to generateoutput using light indicators 451, display 452, speakers 453, andprojector 454. In one embodiment, light indicators 451 may include alight indicator that shows the status of the wearable extended realityappliance. For example, the light indicator may display green light whenthe wearable extended reality appliance 110 are connected to input unit202, and blinks when wearable extended reality appliance 110 has lowbattery. In another embodiment, display 452 may be used to displayoperational information. In another embodiment, speakers 453 may includea bone conduction headphone used to output audio to user 100. In anotherembodiment, projector 454 may present virtual content to user 100.

The operations of a sensors communication module, a virtual contentdetermination module, a virtual content communication module, and adatabase access module are described above with reference to FIG. 3,details of which are not repeated herein. Modules 412-417 may beimplemented in software, hardware, firmware, a mix of any of those, orthe like.

Network interface 420, shown in FIG. 4, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of network interface 320, describedabove in detail. The specific design and implementation of networkinterface 420 may depend on the communications network(s) over which XRunit 204 is intended to operate. For example, in some embodiments, XRunit 204 is configured to be selectively connectable by wire to inputunit 202. When connected by wire, network interface 420 may enablecommunications with input unit 202; and when not connected by wire,network interface 420 may enable communications with mobilecommunications device 206.

Input interface 430, shown in FIG. 4, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of input interface 330 describedabove in detail. In this case, input interface 430 may communicate withan image sensor to obtain gesture input 431 (e.g., a finger of user 100pointing to a virtual object), communicate with other XR units 204 toobtain virtual input 432 (e.g., a virtual object shared with XR unit 204or a gesture of avatar detected in the virtual environment), communicatewith a microphone to obtain audio input 433 (e.g., voice commands), andcommunicate with input unit 202 to obtain UI input 434 (e.g., virtualcontent determined by virtual content determination module 315).

Power source 440, shown in FIG. 4, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of power source 340 described above,only it provides electrical energy to power XR unit 204. In someembodiments, power source 440 may be charged by power source 340. Forexample, power source 440 may be wirelessly changed when XR unit 204 isplaced on or in proximity to input unit 202.

Output interface 450, shown in FIG. 4, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of output interface 350 describedabove in detail. In this case, output interface 450 may cause outputfrom light indicators 451, display 452, speakers 453, and projector 454.Projector 454 may be any device, apparatus, instrument, or the likecapable of projecting (or directing) light in order to display virtualcontent onto a surface. The surface may be part of XR unit 204, part ofan eye of user 100, or part of an object in proximity to user 100. Inone embodiment, projector 454 may include a lighting unit thatconcentrates light within a limited solid angle by means of one or moremirrors and lenses, and provides a high value of luminous intensity in adefined direction.

Processing device 460, shown in FIG. 4, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of processing device 360 describedabove in detail. When XR unit 204 is connected to input unit 202,processing device 460 may work together with processing device 360.Specifically, processing device 460 may implement virtual machinetechnologies or other technologies to provide the ability to execute,control, run, manipulate, store, etc., multiple software processes,applications, programs, etc. It is appreciated that other types ofprocessor arrangements could be implemented to provide the capabilitiesdisclosed herein.

Sensors interface 470, shown in FIG. 4, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of sensors interface 370 describedabove in detail. Specifically sensors interface 470 may communicate withaudio sensor 471, image sensor 472, motion sensor 473, environmentalsensor 474, and other sensors 475. The operations of an audio sensor, animage sensor, a motion sensor, an environmental sensor, and othersensors are described above with reference to FIG. 3, details of whichare not repeated herein. It is appreciated that other types andcombination of sensors may be used to provide the capabilities disclosedherein.

The components and arrangements shown in FIG. 4 are not intended tolimit any embodiment. As will be appreciated by a person skilled in theart having the benefit of this disclosure, numerous variations and/ormodifications may be made to the depicted configuration of XR unit 204.For example, not all components may be essential for the operation of XRunit 204 in all cases. Any component may be located in any appropriatepart of system 200, and the components may be rearranged into a varietyof configurations while providing the functionality of variousembodiments. For example, some XR units may not include all of theelements in XR unit 204 (e.g., wearable extended reality appliance 110may not have light indicators 451).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary configuration of remoteprocessing unit 208. FIG. 5 is an exemplary representation of just oneembodiment, and it is to be understood that some illustrated elementsmight be omitted and others added within the scope of this disclosure.In the embodiment of FIG. 5, remote processing unit 208 may include aserver 210 that directly or indirectly accesses a bus 500 (or othercommunication mechanism) interconnecting subsystems and components fortransferring information within server 210. For example, bus 500 mayinterconnect a memory interface 510, a network interface 520, a powersource 540, a processing device 560, and a database 580. Remoteprocessing unit 208 may also include a one or more data structures. Forexample, data structures 212A. 212B, and 212C.

Memory interface 510, shown in FIG. 5, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of memory interface 310 describedabove in detail. Memory interface 510 may be used to access a softwareproduct and/or data stored on a non-transitory computer-readable mediumor on other memory devices, such as memory devices 311, 411, 511, ordata structures 212A, 212B, and 212C. Memory device 511 may containsoftware modules to execute processes consistent with the presentdisclosure. In particular, memory device 511 may include a shared memorymodule 512, a node registration module 513, a load balancing module 514,one or more computational nodes 515, an internal communication module516, an external communication module 517, and a database access module(not shown). Modules 512-517 may contain software instructions forexecution by at least one processor (e.g., processing device 560)associated with remote processing unit 208. Shared memory module 512,node registration module 513, load balancing module 514, computationalmodule 515, and external communication module 517 may cooperate toperform various operations.

Shared memory module 512 may allow information sharing between remoteprocessing unit 208 and other components of system 200. In someembodiments, shared memory module 512 may be configured to enableprocessing device 560 (and other processing devices in system 200) toaccess, retrieve, and store data. For example, using shared memorymodule 512, processing device 560 may perform at least one of: executingsoftware programs stored on memory device 511, database 580, or datastructures 212A-C; storing information in memory device 511, database580, or data structures 212A-C; or retrieving information from memorydevice 511, database 580, or data structures 212A-C.

Node registration module 513 may be configured to track the availabilityof one or more computational nodes 515. In some examples, noderegistration module 513 may be implemented as: a software program, suchas a software program executed by one or more computational nodes 515, ahardware solution, or a combined software and hardware solution. In someimplementations, node registration module 513 may communicate with oneor more computational nodes 515, for example, using internalcommunication module 516. In some examples, one or more computationalnodes 515 may notify node registration module 513 of their status, forexample, by sending messages: at startup, at shutdown, at constantintervals, at selected times, in response to queries received from noderegistration module 513, or at any other determined times. In someexamples, node registration module 513 may query about the status of oneor more computational nodes 515, for example, by sending messages: atstartup, at constant intervals, at selected times, or at any otherdetermined times.

Load balancing module 514 may be configured to divide the workload amongone or more computational nodes 515. In some examples, load balancingmodule 514 may be implemented as: a software program, such as a softwareprogram executed by one or more of the computational nodes 515, ahardware solution, or a combined software and hardware solution. In someimplementations, load balancing module 514 may interact with noderegistration module 513 in order to obtain information regarding theavailability of one or more computational nodes 515. In someimplementations, load balancing module 514 may communicate with one ormore computational nodes 515, for example, using internal communicationmodule 516. In some examples, one or more computational nodes 515 maynotify load balancing module 514 of their status, for example, bysending messages: at startup, at shutdown, at constant intervals, atselected times, in response to queries received from load balancingmodule 514, or at any other determined times. In some examples, loadbalancing module 514 may query about the status of one or morecomputational nodes 515, for example, by sending messages: at startup,at constant intervals, at pre-selected times, or at any other determinedtimes.

Internal communication module 516 may be configured to receive and/or totransmit information from one or more components of remote processingunit 208. For example, control signals and/or synchronization signalsmay be sent and/or received through internal communication module 516.In one embodiment, input information for computer programs, outputinformation of computer programs, and/or intermediate information ofcomputer programs may be sent and/or received through internalcommunication module 516. In another embodiment, information receivedthough internal communication module 516 may be stored in memory device511, in database 580, in data structures 212A-C, or other memory devicein system 200. For example, information retrieved from data structure212A may be transmitted using internal communication module 516. Inanother example, input data may be received using internal communicationmodule 516 and stored in data structure 212B.

External communication module 517 may be configured to receive and/or totransmit information from one or more components of system 200. Forexample, control signals may be sent and/or received through externalcommunication module 517. In one embodiment, information received thoughexternal communication module 517 may be stored in memory device 511, indatabase 580, in data structures 212A-C, and or any memory device in thesystem 200. In another embodiment, information retrieved from any ofdata structures 212A-C may be transmitted using external communicationmodule 517 to XR unit 204. In another embodiment, input data may betransmitted and/or received using external communication module 517.Examples of such input data may include data received from input unit202, information captured from the environment of user 100 using one ormore sensors (e.g., audio sensor 471, image sensor 472, motion sensor473, environmental sensor 474, other sensors 475), and more.

In some embodiments, aspects of modules 512-517 may be implemented inhardware, in software (including in one or more signal processing and/orapplication specific integrated circuits), in firmware, or in anycombination thereof, executable by one or more processors, alone, or invarious combinations with each other. Specifically, modules 512-517 maybe configured to interact with each other and/or other modules of system200 to perform functions consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Memory device 511 may include additional modules andinstructions or fewer modules and instructions.

Network interface 520, power source 540, processing device 560, anddatabase 580, shown in FIG. 5, are assumed to have similar functionalityas the functionality of similar elements described above with referenceto FIGS. 4 and 5. The specific design and implementation of theabove-mentioned components may vary based on the implementation ofsystem 200. In addition, remote processing unit 208 may include more orfewer components. For example, remote processing unit 208 may include aninput interface configured to receive direct input from one or moreinput devices.

Consistent with the present disclosure, a processing device of system200 (e.g., processor within mobile communications device 206, aprocessor within a server 210, a processor within a wearable extendedreality appliance, such as, wearable extended reality appliance 110,and/or a processor within an input device associated with wearableextended reality appliance 110, such as keyboard 104) may use machinelearning algorithms in order to implement any of the methods disclosedherein. In some embodiments, machine learning algorithms (also referredto as machine learning models in the present disclosure) may be trainedusing training examples, for example in the cases described below. Somenon-limiting examples of such machine learning algorithms may includeclassification algorithms, data regressions algorithms, imagesegmentation algorithms, visual detection algorithms (such as objectdetectors, face detectors, person detectors, motion detectors, edgedetectors, etc.), visual recognition algorithms (such as facerecognition, person recognition, object recognition, etc.), speechrecognition algorithms, mathematical embedding algorithms, naturallanguage processing algorithms, support vector machines, random forests,nearest neighbors algorithms, deep learning algorithms, artificialneural network algorithms, convolutional neural network algorithms,recurrent neural network algorithms, linear machine learning models,non-linear machine learning models, ensemble algorithms, and more. Forexample, a trained machine learning algorithm may comprise an inferencemodel, such as a predictive model, a classification model, a dataregression model, a clustering model, a segmentation model, anartificial neural network (such as a deep neural network, aconvolutional neural network, a recurrent neural network, etc.), arandom forest, a support vector machine, and so forth. In some examples,the training examples may include example inputs together with thedesired outputs corresponding to the example inputs. Further, in someexamples, training machine learning algorithms using the trainingexamples may generate a trained machine learning algorithm, and thetrained machine learning algorithm may be used to estimate outputs forinputs not included in the training examples. In some examples,engineers, scientists, processes and machines that train machinelearning algorithms may further use validation examples and/or testexamples. For example, validation examples and/or test examples mayinclude example inputs together with the desired outputs correspondingto the example inputs, a trained machine learning algorithm and/or anintermediately trained machine learning algorithm may be used toestimate outputs for the example inputs of the validation examplesand/or test examples, the estimated outputs may be compared to thecorresponding desired outputs, and the trained machine learningalgorithm and/or the intermediately trained machine learning algorithmmay be evaluated based on a result of the comparison. In some examples,a machine learning algorithm may have parameters and hyper parameters,where the hyper parameters may be set manually by a person orautomatically by a process external to the machine learning algorithm(such as a hyper parameter search algorithm), and the parameters of themachine learning algorithm may be set by the machine learning algorithmbased on the training examples. In some implementations, thehyper-parameters may be set based on the training examples and thevalidation examples, and the parameters may be set based on the trainingexamples and the selected hyper-parameters. For example, given thehyper-parameters, the parameters may be conditionally independent of thevalidation examples.

In some embodiments, trained machine learning algorithms (also referredto as machine learning models and trained machine learning models in thepresent disclosure) may be used to analyze inputs and generate outputs,for example in the cases described below. In some examples, a trainedmachine learning algorithm may be used as an inference model that whenprovided with an input generates an inferred output. For example, atrained machine learning algorithm may include a classificationalgorithm, the input may include a sample, and the inferred output mayinclude a classification of the sample (such as an inferred label, aninferred tag, and so forth). In another example, a trained machinelearning algorithm may include a regression model, the input may includea sample, and the inferred output may include an inferred valuecorresponding to the sample. In yet another example, a trained machinelearning algorithm may include a clustering model, the input may includea sample, and the inferred output may include an assignment of thesample to at least one cluster. In an additional example, a trainedmachine learning algorithm may include a classification algorithm, theinput may include an image, and the inferred output may include aclassification of an item depicted in the image. In yet another example,a trained machine learning algorithm may include a regression model, theinput may include an image, and the inferred output may include aninferred value corresponding to an item depicted in the image (such asan estimated property of the item, such as size, volume, age of a persondepicted in the image, distance from an item depicted in the image, andso forth). In an additional example, a trained machine learningalgorithm may include an image segmentation model, the input may includean image, and the inferred output may include a segmentation of theimage. In yet another example, a trained machine learning algorithm mayinclude an object detector, the input may include an image, and theinferred output may include one or more detected objects in the imageand/or one or more locations of objects within the image. In someexamples, the trained machine learning algorithm may include one or moreformulas and/or one or more functions and/or one or more rules and/orone or more procedures, the input may be used as input to the formulasand/or functions and/or rules and/or procedures, and the inferred outputmay be based on the outputs of the formulas and/or functions and/orrules and/or procedures (for example, selecting one of the outputs ofthe formulas and/or functions and/or rules and/or procedures, using astatistical measure of the outputs of the formulas and/or functionsand/or rules and/or procedures, and so forth).

Consistent with the present disclosure, a processing device of system200 may analyze image data captured by an image sensor (e.g., imagesensor 372, image sensor 472, or any other image sensor) in order toimplement any of the methods disclosed herein. In some embodiments,analyzing the image data may comprise analyzing the image data to obtaina preprocessed image data, and subsequently analyzing the image dataand/or the preprocessed image data to obtain the desired outcome. One ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that the followings areexamples, and that the image data may be preprocessed using other kindsof preprocessing methods. In some examples, the image data may bepreprocessed by transforming the image data using a transformationfunction to obtain a transformed image data, and the preprocessed imagedata may comprise the transformed image data. For example, thetransformed image data may comprise one or more convolutions of theimage data. For example, the transformation function may comprise one ormore image filters, such as low-pass filters, high-pass filters,band-pass filters, all-pass filters, and so forth. In some examples, thetransformation function may comprise a nonlinear function. In someexamples, the image data may be preprocessed by smoothing at least partsof the image data, for example using Gaussian convolution, using amedian filter, and so forth. In some examples, the image data may bepreprocessed to obtain a different representation of the image data. Forexample, the preprocessed image data may comprise: a representation ofat least part of the image data in a frequency domain; a DiscreteFourier Transform of at least part of the image data; a Discrete WaveletTransform of at least part of the image data; a time/frequencyrepresentation of at least part of the image data; a representation ofat least part of the image data in a lower dimension; a lossyrepresentation of at least part of the image data; a losslessrepresentation of at least part of the image data; a time ordered seriesof any of the above; any combination of the above; and so forth. In someexamples, the image data may be preprocessed to extract edges, and thepreprocessed image data may comprise information based on and/or relatedto the extracted edges. In some examples, the image data may bepreprocessed to extract image features from the image data. Somenon-limiting examples of such image features may comprise informationbased on and/or related to: edges; corners; blobs; ridges; ScaleInvariant Feature Transform (SIFT) features; temporal features; and soforth. In some examples, analyzing the image data may includecalculating at least one convolution of at least a portion of the imagedata, and using the calculated at least one convolution to calculate atleast one resulting value and/or to make determinations,identifications, recognitions, classifications, and so forth.

Consistent with another aspects of the disclosure, a processing deviceof system 200 may analyze image data in order to implement any of themethods disclosed herein. In some embodiments, analyzing the image maycomprise analyzing the image data and/or the preprocessed image datausing one or more rules, functions, procedures, artificial neuralnetworks, object detection algorithms, face detection algorithms, visualevent detection algorithms, action detection algorithms, motiondetection algorithms, background subtraction algorithms, inferencemodels, and so forth. Some non-limiting examples of such inferencemodels may include: an inference model preprogrammed manually; aclassification model; a regression model; a result of trainingalgorithms, such as machine learning algorithms and/or deep learningalgorithms, on training examples, where the training examples mayinclude examples of data instances, and in some cases, a data instancemay be labeled with a corresponding desired label and/or result, andmore. In some embodiments, analyzing image data (for example by themethods, steps and modules described herein) may comprise analyzingpixels, voxels, point cloud, range data, etc. included in the imagedata.

A convolution may include a convolution of any dimension. Aone-dimensional convolution is a function that transforms an originalsequence of numbers to a transformed sequence of numbers. Theone-dimensional convolution may be defined by a sequence of scalars.Each particular value in the transformed sequence of numbers may bedetermined by calculating a linear combination of values in asubsequence of the original sequence of numbers corresponding to theparticular value. A result value of a calculated convolution may includeany value in the transformed sequence of numbers. Likewise, ann-dimensional convolution is a function that transforms an originaln-dimensional array to a transformed array. The n-dimensionalconvolution may be defined by an n-dimensional array of scalars (knownas the kernel of the n-dimensional convolution). Each particular valuein the transformed array may be determined by calculating a linearcombination of values in an n-dimensional region of the original arraycorresponding to the particular value. A result value of a calculatedconvolution may include any value in the transformed array. In someexamples, an image may comprise one or more components (such as colorcomponents, depth component, etc.), and each component may include atwo-dimensional array of pixel values. In one example, calculating aconvolution of an image may include calculating a two-dimensionalconvolution on one or more components of the image. In another example,calculating a convolution of an image may include stacking arrays fromdifferent components to create a three-dimensional array, andcalculating a three-dimensional convolution on the resultingthree-dimensional array. In some examples, a video may comprise one ormore components (such as color components, depth component, etc.), andeach component may include a three-dimensional array of pixel values(with two spatial axes and one temporal axis). In one example,calculating a convolution of a video may include calculating athree-dimensional convolution on one or more components of the video. Inanother example, calculating a convolution of a video may includestacking arrays from different components to create a four-dimensionalarray, and calculating a four-dimensional convolution on the resultingfour-dimensional array.

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawingsand the following description to refer to the same or similar parts.While several illustrative embodiments are described herein,modifications, adaptations and other implementations are possible. Forexample, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to thecomponents illustrated in the drawings, and the illustrative methodsdescribed herein may be modified by substituting, reordering, removing,or adding steps to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, the followingdetailed description is not limited to the disclosed embodiments andexamples, but is inclusive of general principles described herein andillustrated in the figures in addition to the general principlesencompassed by the appended claims.

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for providingusers an extended reality environment. The term “extended realityenvironment.” which may also be referred to as “extended reality.”“extended reality space,” or “extended environment,” refers to all typesof real- and-virtual combined environments and human-machineinteractions at least partially generated by computer technology. Theextended reality environment may be a completely simulated virtualenvironment or a combined real- and-virtual environment that a user mayperceive from different perspectives. In some examples, the user mayinteract with elements of the extended reality environment. Onenon-limiting example of an extended reality environment may be a virtualreality environment, also known as “virtual reality” or a “virtualenvironment.” An immersive virtual reality environment may be asimulated non-physical environment which provides to the user theperception of being present in the virtual environment. Anothernon-limiting example of an extended reality environment may be anaugmented reality environment, also known as “augmented reality” or“augmented environment.” An augmented reality environment may involvelive direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment thatis enhanced with virtual computer-generated perceptual information, suchas virtual objects that the user may interact with. Another non-limitingexample of an extended reality environment is a mixed realityenvironment, also known as “mixed reality” or a “mixed environment.” Amixed reality environment may be a hybrid of physical real-world andvirtual environments, in which physical and virtual objects may coexistand interact in real time. In some examples, both augmented realityenvironments and mixed reality environments may include a combination ofreal and virtual worlds, real-time interactions, and accurate 3Dregistration of virtual and real objects. In some examples, bothaugmented reality environment and mixed reality environments may includeconstructive overlaid sensory information that may be added to thephysical environment. In other examples, both augmented realityenvironment and mixed reality environments may include destructivevirtual content that may mask at least part of the physical environment.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods may provide the extendedreality environment using an extended reality appliance. The termextended reality appliance may include any type of device or system thatenables a user to perceive and/or interact with an extended realityenvironment. The extended reality appliance may enable the user toperceive and/or interact with an extended reality environment throughone or more sensory modalities. Some non-limiting examples of suchsensory modalities may include visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory,and olfactory. One example of the extended reality appliance is avirtual reality appliance that enables the user to perceive and/orinteract with a virtual reality environment. Another example of theextended reality appliance is an augmented reality appliance thatenables the user to perceive and/or interact with an augmented realityenvironment. Yet another example of the extended reality appliance is amixed reality appliance that enables the user to perceive and/orinteract with a mixed reality environment.

Consistent with one aspect of the disclosure, the extended realityappliance may be a wearable device, such as a head-mounted device, forexample, smart glasses, smart contact lens, headsets or any other deviceworn by a human for purposes of presenting an extended reality to thehuman. Other extended reality appliances may include holographicprojector or any other device or system capable of providing anaugmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), or anyimmersive experience. Typical components of wearable extended realityappliances may include at least one of: a stereoscopic head-mounteddisplay, a stereoscopic head-mounted sound system, head-motion trackingsensors (such as gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, imagesensors, structured light sensors, etc.), head mounted projectors,eye-tracking sensors, and additional components described below.Consistent with another aspect of the disclosure, the extended realityappliance may be a non-wearable extended reality appliance.Specifically, the non-wearable extended reality appliance may includemulti-projected environment appliances. In some embodiments, an extendedreality appliance may be configured to change the viewing perspective ofthe extended reality environment in response to movements of the userand in response to head movements of the user in particular. In oneexample, a wearable extended reality appliance may change thefield-of-view of the extended reality environment in response to achange of the head pose of the user, such as by changing the spatialorientation without changing the spatial position of the user in theextended reality environment. In another example, a non-wearableextended reality appliance may change the spatial position of the userin the extended reality environment in response to a change in theposition of the user in the real world, for example, by changing thespatial position of the user in the extended reality environment withoutchanging the direction of the field-of-view with respect to the spatialposition.

According to some embodiments, an extended reality appliance may includea digital communication device configured to at least one of: receivingvirtual content data configured to enable a presentation of the virtualcontent, transmitting virtual content for sharing with at least oneexternal device, receiving contextual data from at least one externaldevice, transmitting contextual data to at least one external device,transmitting of usage data indicative of usage of the extended realityappliance, and transmitting of data based on information captured usingat least one sensor included in the extended reality appliance. Inadditional embodiments, the extended reality appliance may includememory for storing at least one of virtual data configured to enable apresentation of virtual content, contextual data, usage data indicativeof usage of the extended reality appliance, sensor data based oninformation captured using at least one sensor included in the wearableextended reality appliance, software instructions configured to cause aprocessing device to present the virtual content, software instructionsconfigured to cause a processing device to collect and analyze thecontextual data, software instructions configured to cause a processingdevice to collect and analyze the usage data, and software instructionsconfigured to cause a processing device to collect and analyze thesensor data. In additional embodiments, the extended reality appliancemay include a processing device configured to perform at least one ofrendering of virtual content, collecting and analyzing contextual data,collecting and analyzing usage data, and collecting and analyzing sensordata. In additional embodiments, the extended reality appliance mayinclude one or more sensors. The one or more sensors may include one ormore image sensors (e.g., configured to capture images and/or videos ofa user of the appliance or of an environment of the user), one or moremotion sensors (such as an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer,etc.), one or more positioning sensors (such as GPS, outdoor positioningsensor, indoor positioning sensor, etc.), one or more temperaturesensors (e.g., configured to measure the temperature of at least part ofthe appliance and/or of the environment), one or more contact sensors,one or more proximity sensors (e.g., configured to detect whether theappliance is currently worn), one or more electrical impedance sensors(e.g., configured to measure electrical impedance of the user), one ormore eye tracking sensors, such as gaze detectors, optical trackers,electric potential trackers (e.g., electrooculogram (EOG) sensors),video-based eye-trackers, infra-red/near infra-red sensors, passivelight sensors, or any other technology capable of determining where ahuman is looking or gazing.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods may use an input device tointeract with the extended reality appliance. The term input device mayinclude any physical device configured to receive input from a user oran environment of the user, and to provide the data to a computationaldevice. The data provided to the computational device may be in adigital format and/or in an analog format. In one embodiment, the inputdevice may store the input received from the user in a memory deviceaccessible by a processing device, and the processing device may accessthe stored data for analysis. In another embodiment, the input devicemay provide the data directly to a processing device, for example, overa bus or over another communication system configured to transfer datafrom the input device to the processing device. In some examples, theinput received by the input device may include key presses, tactileinput data, motion data, position data, gestures based input data,direction data, or any other data for supply for computation. Someexamples of the input device may include a button, a key, a keyboard, acomputer mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a joystick, or anothermechanism from which input may be received. Another example of an inputdevice may include an integrated computational interface device thatincludes at least one physical component for receiving input from auser. The integrated computational interface device may include at leasta memory, a processing device, and the at least one physical componentfor receiving input from a user. In one example, the integratedcomputational interface device may further include a digital networkinterface that enables digital communication with other computingdevices. In one example, the integrated computational interlace devicemay further include a physical component for outputting information tothe user. In some examples, all components of the integratedcomputational interface device may be included in a single housing,while in other examples the components may be distributed among two ormore housings. Some non-limiting examples of physical components forreceiving input from users that may be included in the integratedcomputational interface device may include at least one of a button, akey, a keyboard, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a joystick, or any othermechanism or sensor from which computational information may bereceived. Some non-limiting examples of physical components foroutputting information to users may include at least one of a lightindicator (such as a LED indicator), a screen, a touchscreen, a beeper,an audio speaker, or any other audio, video, or haptic device thatprovides human-perceptible outputs.

In some embodiments, image data may be captured using one or more imagesensors. In some examples, the image sensors may be included in theextended reality appliance, in a wearable device, in the wearableextended reality device, in the input device, in an environment of auser, and so forth. In some examples, the image data may be read frommemory, may be received from an external device, may be generated (forexample, using a generative model), and so forth. Some non-limitingexamples of image data may include images, grayscale images, colorimages, 2D images, 3D images, videos, 2D videos, 3D videos, frames,footages, data derived from other image data, and so forth. In someexamples, the image data may be encoded in any analog or digital format.Some non-limiting examples of such formats may include raw formats,compressed formats, uncompressed formats, lossy formats, losslessformats, JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, BMP, NTSC, PAL, SECAM, MPEG, MPEG-4 Part14, MOV, WMV, FLV, AVI, AVCHD, WebM, MKV, and so forth.

In some embodiments, the extended reality appliance may receive digitalsignals, for example, from the input device. The term digital signalsmay refer to a series of digital values that are discrete in time. Thedigital signals may represent, for example, sensor data, textual data,voice data, video data, virtual data, or any other form of data thatprovides perceptible information. Consistent with the presentdisclosure, the digital signals may be configured to cause the extendedreality appliance to present virtual content. In one embodiment, thevirtual content may be presented in a selected orientation. In thisembodiment, the digital signals may indicate a position and an angle ofa viewpoint in an environment, such as an extended reality environment.Specifically, the digital signals may include an encoding of theposition and angle in six degree-of-freedom coordinates (e.g.,forward/back, up/down, left/right, yaw, pitch, and roll). In anotherembodiment, the digital signals may include an encoding of the positionas three-dimensional coordinates (e.g., x, y, and z), and an encoding ofthe angle as a vector originating from the encoded position.Specifically, the digital signals may indicate the orientation and anangle of the presented virtual content in an absolute coordinates of theenvironment, for example, by encoding yaw, pitch and roll of the virtualcontent with respect to a standard default angle. In another embodiment,the digital signals may indicate the orientation and the angle of thepresented virtual content with respect to a viewpoint of another object(e.g., a virtual object, a physical object, etc.), for example, byencoding yaw, pitch, and roll of the virtual content with respect adirection corresponding to the viewpoint or to a direction correspondingto the other object. In another embodiment, such digital signals mayinclude one or more projections of the virtual content, for example, ina format ready for presentation (e.g., image, video, etc.). For example,each such projection may correspond to a particular orientation or aparticular angle. In another embodiment, the digital signals may includea representation of virtual content, for example, by encoding objects ina three-dimensional array of voxels, in a polygon mesh, or in any otherformat in which virtual content may be presented.

In some embodiments, the digital signals may be configured to cause theextended reality appliance to present virtual content. The term virtualcontent may include any type of data representation that may bedisplayed by the extended reality appliance to the user. The virtualcontent may include a virtual object, inanimate virtual content, animatevirtual content configured to change over time or in response totriggers, virtual two-dimensional content, virtual three-dimensionalcontent, a virtual overlay over a portion of a physical environment orover a physical object, a virtual addition to a physical environment orto a physical object, a virtual promotion content, a virtualrepresentation of a physical object, a virtual representation of aphysical environment, a virtual document, a virtual character orpersona, a virtual computer screen, a virtual widget, or any otherformat for displaying information virtually. Consistent with the presentdisclosure, the virtual content may include any visual presentationrendered by a computer or a processing device. In one embodiment, thevirtual content may include a virtual object that is a visualpresentation rendered by a computer in a confined region and configuredto represent an object of a particular type (such as an inanimatevirtual object, an animate virtual object, virtual furniture, a virtualdecorative object, virtual widget, or other virtual representation). Therendered visual presentation may change to reflect changes to a statusobject or changes in the viewing angle of the object, for example, in away that mimics changes in the appearance of physical objects. Inanother embodiment, the virtual content may include a virtual display(also referred to as a “virtual display screen” or a “virtual screen”herein), such as a virtual computer screen, a virtual tablet screen or avirtual smartphone screen, configured to display information generatedby an operating system, in which the operating system may be configuredto receive textual data from a physical keyboard and/or a virtualkeyboard and to cause a display of the textual content in the virtualdisplay screen. In one example, illustrated in FIG. 1, the virtualcontent may include a virtual environment that includes a virtualcomputer screen and a plurality of virtual objects. In some examples, avirtual display may be a virtual object mimicking and/or extending thefunctionality of a physical display screen. For example, the virtualdisplay may be presented in an extended reality environment (such as amixed reality environment, an augmented reality environment, a virtualreality environment, etc.), using an extended reality appliance. In oneexample, a virtual display may present content produced by a regularoperating system that may be equally presented on a physical displayscreen. In one example, a textual content entered using a keyboard (forexample, using a physical keyboard, using a virtual keyboard, etc.) maybe presented on a virtual display in real time as the textual content istyped. In one example, a virtual cursor may be presented on a virtualdisplay, and the virtual cursor may be controlled by a pointing device(such as a physical pointing device, a virtual pointing device, acomputer mouse, a joystick, a touchpad, a physical touch controller, andso forth). In one example, one or more windows of a graphical userinterface operating system may be presented on a virtual display. Inanother example, content presented on a virtual display may beinteractive, that is, it may change in reaction to actions of users. Inyet another example, a presentation of a virtual display may include apresentation of a screen frame, or may include no presentation of ascreen frame.

Some disclosed embodiments may include and/or access a data structure ora database. The terms data structure and a database, consistent with thepresent disclosure may include any collection of data values andrelationships among them. The data may be stored linearly, horizontally,hierarchically, relationally, non-relationally, uni-dimensionally,multidimensionally, operationally, in an ordered manner, in an unorderedmanner, in an object-oriented manner, in a centralized manner, in adecentralized manner, in a distributed manner, in a custom manner, or inany manner enabling data access. By way of non-limiting examples, datastructures may include an array, an associative array, a linked list, abinary tree, a balanced tree, a heap, a stack, a queue, a set, a hashtable, a record, a tagged union, Entity-Relationship model, a graph, ahypergraph, a matrix, a tensor, and so forth. For example, a datastructure may include an XML database, an RDBMS database, an SQLdatabase or NoSQL alternatives for data storage/search such as, forexample, MongoDB, Redis, Couchbase, Datastax Enterprise Graph, ElasticSearch, Splunk, Solr, Cassandra, Amazon DynamoDB, Scylla, HBase, andNeo4J. A data structure may be a component of the disclosed system or aremote computing component (e.g., a cloud-based data structure). Data inthe data structure may be stored in contiguous or non-contiguous memory.Moreover, a data structure, does not require information to beco-located. It may be distributed across multiple servers, for example,that may be owned or operated by the same or different entities. Thus,the term data structure in the singular is inclusive of plural datastructures.

In some embodiments, the system may determine the confidence level inreceived input or in any determined value. The term confidence levelrefers to any indication, numeric or otherwise, of a level (e.g., withina predetermined range) indicative of an amount of confidence the systemhas at determined data. For example, the confidence level may have avalue between 1 and 10. Alternatively, the confidence level may beexpressed as a percentage or any other numerical or non-numericalindication. In some cases, the system may compare the confidence levelto a threshold. The term threshold may denote a reference value, alevel, a point, or a range of values. In operation, when the confidencelevel of determined data exceeds the threshold (or is below it,depending on a particular use case), the system may follow a firstcourse of action and, when the confidence level is below it (or aboveit, depending on a particular use case), the system may follow a secondcourse of action. The value of the threshold may be predetermined foreach type of examined object or may be dynamically selected based ondifferent considerations.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which illustrates a user that uses anexample extended reality system consistent with embodiments of thepresent disclosure FIG. 1 is an exemplary representation of just oneembodiment, and it is to be understood that some illustrated elementsmight be omitted and others added within the scope of this disclosure.As shown, a user 100 is sitting behind table 102, supporting a keyboard104 and mouse 106. Keyboard 104 is connected by wire 108 to a wearableextended reality appliance 110 that displays virtual content to user100. Alternatively or additionally to wire 108, keyboard 104 may connectto wearable extended reality appliance 110 wirelessly. For illustrationpurposes, the wearable extended reality appliance is depicted a pair ofsmart glasses, but, as described above, wearable extended realityappliance 110 may be any type of head-mounted device used for presentingan extended reality to user 100. The virtual content displayed bywearable extended reality appliance 110 includes a virtual screen 112(also referred to as a “virtual display screen” or a “virtual display”herein) and a plurality of virtual widgets 114. Virtual widgets114A-114D are displayed next to virtual screen 112 and virtual widget114E is displayed on table 102. User 100 may input text to a document116 displayed in virtual screen 112 using keyboard 104: and may controlvirtual cursor 118 using mouse 106. In one example, virtual cursor 118may move anywhere within virtual screen 112. In another example, virtualcursor 118 may move anywhere within virtual screen 112 and may also moveto any one of virtual widgets 114A-114D but not to virtual widget 114E.In yet another example, virtual cursor 118 may move anywhere withinvirtual screen 112 and may also move to any one of virtual widgets114A-114E. In an additional example, virtual cursor 118 may moveanywhere in the extended reality environment including virtual screen112 and virtual widgets 114A-114E. In yet another example, virtualcursor may move on all available surfaces (i.e., virtual surfaces orphysical surfaces) or only on selected surfaces in the extended realityenvironment. Alternatively or additionally, user 100 may interact withany one of virtual widgets 114A-114E, or with selected virtual widgets,using hand gestures recognized by wearable extended reality appliance110. For example, virtual widget 114E may be an interactive widget(e.g., a virtual slider controller) that may be operated with handgestures.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a system 200 that provides extendedreality (XR) experience to users, such as user 100. FIG. 2 is anexemplary representation of just one embodiment, and it is to beunderstood that some illustrated elements might be omitted and othersadded within the scope of this disclosure. System 200 may becomputer-based and may include computer system components, wearableappliances, workstations, tablets, handheld computing devices, memorydevices, and/or internal network(s) connecting the components. System200 may include or be connected to various network computing resources(e.g., servers, routers, switches, network connections, storage devices,etc.) for supporting services provided by system 200. Consistent withthe present disclosure, system 200 may include an input unit 202, an XRunit 204, a mobile communications device 206, and a remote processingunit 208. Remote processing unit 208 may include a server 210 coupled toone or more physical or virtual storage devices, such as a datastructure 212. System 200 may also include or be connected to acommunications network 214 that facilitates communications and dataexchange between different system components and the different entitiesassociated with system 200.

Consistent with the present disclosure, input unit 202 may include oneor more devices that may receive input from user 100. In one embodiment,input unit 202 may include a textual input device, such as keyboard 104.The textual input device may include all possible types of devices andmechanisms for inputting textual information to system 200. Examples oftextual input devices may include mechanical keyboards, membranekeyboards, flexible keyboards, QWERTY keyboards, Dvorak keyboards,Colemak keyboards, chorded keyboards, wireless keyboards, keypads,key-based control panels, or other arrays of control keys, vision inputdevices, or any other mechanism for inputting text, whether themechanism is provided in physical form or is presented virtually. In oneembodiment, input unit 202 may also include a pointing input device,such as mouse 106. The pointing input device may include all possibletypes of devices and mechanisms for inputting two-dimensional orthree-dimensional information to system 200. In one example,two-dimensional input from the pointing input device may be used forinteracting with virtual content presented via the XR unit 204. Examplesof pointing input devices may include a computer mouse, trackball,touchpad, trackpad, touchscreen, joystick, pointing stick, stylus, lightpen, or any other physical or virtual input mechanism. In oneembodiment, input unit 202 may also include a graphical input device,such as a touchscreen configured to detect contact, movement, or breakof movement. The graphical input device may use any of a plurality oftouch sensitivity technologies, including, but not limited to,capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologiesas well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements fordetermining one or more points of contact. In one embodiment, input unit202 may also include one or more voice input devices, such as amicrophone. The voice input device may include all possible types ofdevices and mechanisms for inputting voice data to facilitatevoice-enabled functions, such as voice recognition, voice replication,digital recording, and telephony functions. In one embodiment, inputunit 202 may also include one or more image input devices, such as animage sensor, configured to capture image data. In one embodiment, inputunit 202 may also include one or more haptic gloves configured tocapture hands motion and pose data. In one embodiment, input unit 202may also include one or more proximity sensors configured to detectpresence and/or movement of objects in a selected region near thesensors.

In accordance with some embodiments, the system may include at least onesensor configured to detect and/or measure a property associated withthe user, the user's action, or user's environment. One example of theat least one sensor, is sensor 216 included in input unit 202. Sensor216 may be a motion sensor, a touch sensor, a light sensor, an infraredsensor, an audio sensor, an image sensor, a proximity sensor, apositioning sensor, a gyroscope, a temperature sensor, a biometricsensor, or any other sensing devices to facilitate relatedfunctionalities. Sensor 216 may be integrated with, or connected to, theinput devices or it may be separated from the input devices. In oneexample, a thermometer may be included in mouse 106 to determine thebody temperature of user 100. In another example, a positioning sensormay be integrated with keyboard 104 to determine movement of user 100relative to keyboard 104. Such positioning sensor may be implementedusing one of the following technologies: Global Positioning System(GPS), GLObal NAvigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo globalnavigation system, BeiDou navigation system, other Global NavigationSatellite Systems (GNSS), Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System(IRNSS), Local Positioning Systems (LPS), Real-Time Location Systems(RTLS), Indoor Positioning System (IPS), Wi-Fi based positioningsystems, cellular triangulation, image based positioning technology,indoor positioning technology, outdoor positioning technology, or anyother positioning technology.

In accordance with some embodiments, the system may include one or moresensors for identifying a position and/or a movement of a physicaldevice (such as a physical input device, a physical computing device,keyboard 104, mouse 106, wearable extended reality appliance 110, and soforth). The one or more sensors may be included in the physical deviceor may be external to the physical device. In some examples, an imagesensor external to the physical device (for example, an image sensorincluded in another physical device) may be used to capture image dataof the physical device, and the image data may be analyzed to identifythe position and/or the movement of the physical device. For example,the image data may be analyzed using a visual object tracking algorithmto identify the movement of the physical device, may be analyzed using avisual object detection algorithm to identify the position of thephysical device (for example, relative to the image sensor, in a globalcoordinates system, etc.), and so forth. In some examples, an imagesensor included in the physical device may be used to capture imagedata, and the image data may be analyzed to identify the position and/orthe movement of the physical device. For example, the image data may beanalyzed using visual odometry algorithms to identify the position ofthe physical device, may be analyzed using an ego-motion algorithm toidentify movement of the physical device, and so forth. In someexamples, a positioning sensor, such as an indoor positioning sensor oran outdoor positioning sensor, may be included in the physical deviceand may be used to determine the position of the physical device. Insome examples, a motion sensor, such as an accelerometer or a gyroscope,may be included in the physical device and may be used to determine themotion of the physical device. In some examples, a physical device, suchas a keyboard or a mouse, may be configured to be positioned on aphysical surface. Such physical device may include an optical mousesensor (also known as non-mechanical tracking engine) aimed towards thephysical surface, and the output of the optical mouse sensor may beanalyzed to determine movement of the physical device with respect tothe physical surface.

Consistent with the present disclosure, XR unit 204 may include awearable extended reality appliance configured to present virtualcontent to user 100. One example of the wearable extended realityappliance is wearable extended reality appliance 110. Additionalexamples of wearable extended reality appliance may include a VirtualReality (VR) device, an Augmented Reality (AR) device, a Mixed Reality(MR) device, or any other device capable of generating extended realitycontent. Some non-limiting examples of such devices may include NrealLight, Magic Leap One, Varjo, Quest 1/2, Vive, and others. In someembodiments, XR unit 204 may present virtual content to user 100.Generally, an extended reality appliance may include all real-and-virtual combined environments and human-machine interactionsgenerated by computer technology and wearables. As mentioned above, theterm “extended reality” (XR) refers to a superset which includes theentire spectrum from “the complete real” to “the complete virtual.” Itincludes representative forms such as augmented reality (AR), mixedreality (MR), virtual reality (VR), and the areas interpolated amongthem. Accordingly, it is noted that the terms “XR appliance,” “ARappliance,” “VR appliance,” and “MR appliance” may be usedinterchangeably herein and may refer to any device of the variety ofappliances listed above.

Consistent with the present disclosure, the system may exchange datawith a variety of communication devices associated with users, forexample, mobile communications device 206. The term “communicationdevice” is intended to include all possible types of devices capable ofexchanging data using digital communications network, analogcommunication network or any other communications network configured toconvey data. In some examples, the communication device may include asmartphone, a tablet, a smartwatch, a personal digital assistant, adesktop computer, a laptop computer, an IoT device, a dedicatedterminal, a wearable communication device, and any other device thatenables data communications. In some cases, mobile communications device206 may supplement or replace input unit 202. Specifically, mobilecommunications device 206 may be associated with a physical touchcontroller that may function as a pointing input device. Moreover,mobile communications device 206 may also, for example, be used toimplement a virtual keyboard and replace the textual input device. Forexample, when user 100 steps away from table 102 and walks to the breakroom with his smart glasses, he may receive an email that requires aquick answer. In this case, the user may select to use his or her ownsmartwatch as the input device and to type the answer to the email whileit is virtually presented by the smart glasses.

Consistent with the present disclosure, embodiments of the system mayinvolve the usage of a cloud server. The term “cloud server” refers to acomputer platform that provides services via a network, such as theInternet. In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, server 210may use virtual machines that may not correspond to individual hardware.For example, computational and/or storage capabilities may beimplemented by allocating appropriate portions of desirablecomputation/storage power from a scalable repository, such as a datacenter or a distributed computing environment. Specifically, in oneembodiment, remote processing unit 208 may be used together with XR unit204 to provide the virtual content to user 100. In one exampleconfiguration, server 210 may be a cloud server that functions as theoperation system (OS) of the wearable extended reality appliance. In oneexample, server 210 may implement the methods described herein usingcustomized hard-wired logic, one or more Application Specific IntegratedCircuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), firmware,and/or program logic which, in combination with the computer system,cause server 210 to be a special-purpose machine.

In some embodiments, server 210 may access data structure 212 todetermine, for example, virtual content to display user 100. Datastructure 212 may utilize a volatile or non-volatile, magnetic,semiconductor, tape, optical, removable, non-removable, other type ofstorage device or tangible or non-transitory computer-readable medium,or any medium or mechanism for storing information. Data structure 212may be part of server 210 or separate from server 210, as shown. Whendata structure 212 is not part of server 210, server 210 may exchangedata with data structure 212 via a communication link. Data structure212 may include one or more memory devices that store data andinstructions used to perform one or more features of the disclosedmethods. In one embodiment, data structure 212 may include any of aplurality of suitable data structures, ranging from small datastructures hosted on a workstation to large data structures distributedamong data centers. Data structure 212 may also include any combinationof one or more data structures controlled by memory controller devices(e.g., servers) or software.

Consistent with the present disclosure, communications network may beany type of network (including infrastructure) that supportscommunications, exchanges information, and/or facilitates the exchangeof information between the components of a system. For example,communications network 214 in system 200 may include, for example, atelephone network, an extranet, an intranet, the Internet, satellitecommunications, off-line communications, wireless communications,transponder communications, a Local Area Network (LAN), wireless network(e.g., a Wi-Fi/302.11 network), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a VirtualPrivate Network (VPN), digital communication network, analogcommunication network, or any other mechanism or combinations ofmechanism that enable data transmission.

The components and arrangements of system 200 shown in FIG. 2 areintended to be exemplary only and are not intended to limit thedisclosed embodiments, as the system components used to implement thedisclosed processes and features may vary.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary configuration of input unit202. FIG. 3 is an exemplary representation of just one embodiment, andit is to be understood that some illustrated elements might be omittedand others added within the scope of this disclosure. In the embodimentof FIG. 3, input unit 202 may directly or indirectly access a bus 300(or other communication mechanism) that interconnects subsystems andcomponents for transferring information within input unit 202. Forexample, bus 300 may interconnect a memory interface 310, a networkinterface 320, an input interface 330, a power source 340, an outputinterface 350, a processing device 360, a sensors interface 370, and adatabase 380.

Memory interface 310, shown in FIG. 3, may be used to access a softwareproduct and/or data stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium.Generally, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium refers toany type of physical memory on which information or data readable by atleast one processor can be stored. Examples include Random Access Memory(RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, harddrives, CD ROMs, DVDs, flash drives, disks, any other optical datastorage medium, any physical medium with patterns of holes, a PROM, anEPROM, a FLASH-EPROM or any other flash memory, NVRAM, a cache, aregister, any other memory chip or cartridge, and networked versions ofthe same. The terms “memory” and “computer-readable storage medium” mayrefer to multiple structures, such as a plurality of memories orcomputer-readable storage mediums located within an input unit or at aremote location. Additionally, one or more computer-readable storagemediums can be utilized in implementing a computer-implemented method.Accordingly, the term computer-readable storage medium should beunderstood to include tangible items and exclude carrier waves andtransient signals. In the specific embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3,memory interface 310 may be used to access a software product and/ordata stored on a memory device, such as memory device 311. Memory device311 may include high-speed random-access memory and/or non-volatilememory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or moreoptical storage devices, and/or flash memory (e.g., NAND, NOR).Consistent with the present disclosure, the components of memory device311 may be distributed in more than units of system 200 and/or in morethan one memory device.

Memory device 311, shown in FIG. 3, may contain software modules toexecute processes consistent with the present disclosure. In particular,memory device 311 may include an input determination module 312, anoutput determination module 313, a sensors communication module 314, avirtual content determination module 315, a virtual contentcommunication module 316, and a database access module 317. Modules312-317 may contain software instructions for execution by at least oneprocessor (e.g., processing device 360) associated with input unit 202.Input determination module 312, output determination module 313, sensorscommunication module 314, virtual content determination module 315,virtual content communication module 316, and database access module 317may cooperate to perform various operations. For example, inputdetermination module 312 may determine text using data received from,for example, keyboard 104. Thereafter, output determination module 313may cause presentation of the recent inputted text, for example on adedicated display 352 physically or wirelessly coupled to keyboard 104.This way, when user 100 types, he can see a preview of the typed textwithout constantly moving his head up and down to look at virtual screen112. Sensors communication module 314 may receive data from differentsensors to determine a status of user 100. Thereafter, virtual contentdetermination module 315 may determine the virtual content to display,based on received input and the determined status of user 100. Forexample, the determined virtual content may be a virtual presentation ofthe recent inputted text on a virtual screen virtually located adjacentto keyboard 104. Virtual content communication module 316 may obtainvirtual content that is not determined by virtual content determinationmodule 315 (e.g., an avatar of another user). The retrieval of thevirtual content may be from database 380, from remote processing unit208, or any other source.

In some embodiments, input determination module 312 may regulate theoperation of input interface 330 in order to receive pointer input 331,textual input 332, audio input 333, and XR-related input 334. Details onthe pointer input, the textual input, and the audio input are describedabove. The term “XR-related input” may include any type of data that maycause a change in the virtual content displayed to user 100. In oneembodiment, XR-related input 334 may include image data of user 100, awearable extended reality appliance (e.g., detected hand gestures ofuser 100). In another embodiment, XR-related input 334 may includewireless communication indicating a presence of another user inproximity to user 100. Consistent with the present disclosure, inputdetermination module 312 may concurrently receive different types ofinput data. Thereafter, input determination module 312 may further applydifferent rules based on the detected type of input. For example, apointer input may have precedence over voice input.

In some embodiments, output determination module 313 may regulate theoperation of output interface 350 in order to generate output usinglight indicators 351, display 352, and/or speakers 353. In general, theoutput generated by output determination module 313 does not includevirtual content to be presented by a wearable extended realityappliance. Instead, the output generated by output determination module313 include various outputs that relates to the operation of input unit202 and/or the operation of XR unit 204. In one embodiment, lightindicators 351 may include a light indicator that shows the status of awearable extended reality appliance. For example, the light indicatormay display green light when wearable extended reality appliance 110 areconnected to keyboard 104, and blinks when wearable extended realityappliance 110 has low battery. In another embodiment, display 352 may beused to display operational information. For example, the display maypresent error messages when the wearable extended reality appliance isinoperable. In another embodiment, speakers 353 may be used to outputaudio, for example, when user 100 wishes to play some music for otherusers.

In some embodiments, sensors communication module 314 may regulate theoperation of sensors interface 370 in order to receive sensor data fromone or more sensors, integrated with, or connected to, an input device.The one or more sensors may include: audio sensor 371, image sensor 372,motion sensor 373, environmental sensor 374 (e.g., a temperature sensor,ambient light detectors, etc.), and other sensors 375. In oneembodiment, the data received from sensors communication module 314 maybe used to determine the physical orientation of the input device. Thephysical orientation of the input device may be indicative of a state ofthe user and may be determined based on combination of a tilt movement,a roll movement, and a lateral movement. Thereafter, the physicalorientation of the input device may be used by virtual contentdetermination module 315 to modify display parameters of the virtualcontent to match the state of the user (e.g., attention, sleepy, active,sitting, standing, leaning backwards, leaning forward, walking, moving,riding, etc.).

In some embodiments, virtual content determination module 315 maydetermine the virtual content to be displayed by the wearable extendedreality appliance. The virtual content may be determined based on datafrom input determination module 312, sensors communication module 314,and other sources (e.g., database 380). In some embodiments, determiningthe virtual content may include determining the distance, the size, andthe orientation of the virtual objects. The determination of theposition of the virtual objects may be determined based on the type ofthe virtual objects. Specifically, with regards to the exampleillustrated in FIG. 1, the virtual content determination module 315 maydetermine to place four virtual widgets 114A-114D on the sides ofvirtual screen 112 and to place virtual widget 114E on table 102 becausevirtual widget 114E is a virtual controller (e.g., volume bar). Thedetermination of the position of the virtual objects may further bedetermined based on user's preferences. For example, for left-handedusers, virtual content determination module 315 may determine placing avirtual volume bar left of keyboard 104; and for right-handed users,virtual content determination module 315 may determine placing thevirtual volume bar right of keyboard 104.

In some embodiments, virtual content communication module 316 mayregulate the operation of network interface 320 in order to obtain datafrom one or more sources to be presented as virtual content to user 100.The one or more sources may include other XR units 204, the user'smobile communications device 206, remote processing unit 208, publiclyavailable information, etc. In one embodiment, virtual contentcommunication module 316 may communicate with mobile communicationsdevice 206 in order to provide a virtual representation of mobilecommunications device 206. For example, the virtual representation mayenable user 100 to read messages and interact with applicationsinstalled on the mobile communications device 206. Virtual contentcommunication module 316 may also regulate the operation of networkinterface 320 in order to share virtual content with other users. In oneexample, virtual content communication module 316 may use data frominput determination module to identify a trigger (e.g., the trigger mayinclude a gesture of the user) and to transfer content from the virtualdisplay to a physical display (e.g., TV) or to a virtual display of adifferent user.

In some embodiments, database access module 317 may cooperate withdatabase 380 to retrieve stored data. The retrieved data may include,for example, privacy levels associated with different virtual objects,the relationship between virtual objects and physical objects, theuser's preferences, the user's past behavior, and more. As describedabove, virtual content determination module 315 may use the data storedin database 380 to determine the virtual content. Database 380 mayinclude separate databases, including, for example, a vector database,raster database, tile database, viewport database, and/or a user inputdatabase. The data stored in database 380 may be received from modules314-317 or other components of system 200. Moreover, the data stored indatabase 380 may be provided as input using data entry, data transfer,or data uploading.

Modules 312-317 may be implemented in software, hardware, firmware, amix of any of those, or the like. In some embodiments, any one or moreof modules 312-317 and data associated with database 380 may be storedin XR unit 204, mobile communications device 206, or remote processingunit 208. Processing devices of system 200 may be configured to executethe instructions of modules 312-317. In some embodiments, aspects ofmodules 312-317 may be implemented in hardware, in software (includingin one or more signal processing and/or application specific integratedcircuits), in firmware, or in any combination thereof, executable by oneor more processors, alone, or in various combinations with each other.Specifically, modules 312-317 may be configured to interact with eachother and/or other modules of system 200 to perform functions consistentwith disclosed embodiments. For example, input unit 202 may executeinstructions that include an image processing algorithm on data from XRunit 204 to determine head movement of user 100. Furthermore, eachfunctionality described throughout the specification, with regards toinput unit 202 or with regards to a component of input unit 202, maycorrespond to a set of instructions for performing said functionality.These instructions need not be implemented as separate softwareprograms, procedures, or modules. Memory device 311 may includeadditional modules and instructions or fewer modules and instructions.For example, memory device 311 may store an operating system, such asANDROID, iOS, UNIX, OSX, WINDOWS, DARWIN, RTXC, LINUX or an embeddedoperating system such as VXWorkS. The operating system can includeinstructions for handling basic system services and for performinghardware-dependent tasks.

Network interface 320, shown in FIG. 3, may provide two-way datacommunications to a network, such as communications network 214. In oneembodiment, network interface 320 may include an Integrated ServicesDigital Network (ISDN) card, cellular modem, satellite modem, or a modemto provide a data communication connection over the Internet. As anotherexample, network interface 320 may include a Wireless Local Area Network(WLAN) card. In another embodiment, network interface 320 may include anEthernet port connected to radio frequency receivers and transmittersand/or optical (e.g., infrared) receivers and transmitters. The specificdesign and implementation of network interface 320 may depend on thecommunications network or networks over which input unit 202 is intendedto operate. For example, in some embodiments, input unit 202 may includenetwork interface 320 designed to operate over a GSM network, a GPRSnetwork, an EDGE network, a Wi-Fi or WiMax network, and a Bluetoothnetwork. In any such implementation, network interface 320 may beconfigured to send and receive electrical, electromagnetic, or opticalsignals that carry digital data streams or digital signals representingvarious types of information.

Input interface 330, shown in FIG. 3, may receive input from a varietyof input devices, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch pad, a touchscreen, one or more buttons, a joystick, a microphone, an image sensor,and any other device configured to detect physical or virtual input. Thereceived input may be in the form of at least one of: text, sounds,speech, hand gestures, body gestures, tactile information, and any othertype of physically or virtually input generated by the user. In thedepicted embodiment, input interface 330 may receive pointer input 331,textual input 332, audio input 333, and XR-related input 334. Inadditional embodiment, input interface 330 may be an integrated circuitthat may act as bridge between processing device 360 and any of theinput devices listed above.

Power source 340, shown in FIG. 3, may provide electrical energy topower input unit 202 and optionally also power XR unit 204. Generally, apower source included in the any device or system in the presentdisclosure may be any device that can repeatedly store, dispense, orconvey electric power, including, but not limited to, one or morebatteries (e.g., a lead-acid battery, a lithium-ion battery, anickel-metal hydride battery, a nickel-cadmium battery), one or morecapacitors, one or more connections to external power sources, one ormore power convertors, or any combination of them. With reference to theexample illustrated in FIG. 3, the power source may be mobile, whichmeans that input unit 202 can be easily carried by a hand (e.g., thetotal weight of power source 340 may be less than a pound). The mobilityof the power source enables user 100 to use input unit 202 in a varietyof situations. In other embodiments, power source 340 may be associatedwith a connection to an external power source (such as an electricalpower grid) that may be used to charge power source 340. In addition,power source 340 may be configured to charge one or more batteriesincluded in XR unit 204; for example, a pair of extended reality glasses(e.g., wearable extended reality appliance 110) may be charged (e.g.,wirelessly or not wirelessly) when they are placed on or in proximity tothe input unit 202.

Output interface 350, shown in FIG. 3, may cause output from a varietyof output devices, for example, using light indicators 351, display 352,and/or speakers 353. In one embodiment, output interface 350 may be anintegrated circuit that may act as bridge between processing device 360and at least one of the output devices listed above. Light indicators351 may include one or more light sources, for example, a LED arrayassociated with different colors. Display 352 may include a screen(e.g., LCD or dot-matrix screen) or a touch screen. Speakers 353 mayinclude audio headphones, a hearing aid type device, a speaker, a boneconduction headphone, interfaces that provide tactile cues, vibrotactilestimulators, and more.

Processing device 360, shown in FIG. 3, may include at least oneprocessor configured to execute computer programs, applications,methods, processes, or other software to perform embodiments describedin the present disclosure. Generally, a processing device included inthe any device or system in the present disclosure may include one ormore integrated circuits, microchips, microcontrollers, microprocessors,all or part of a central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit(GPU), digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array(FPGA), or other circuits suitable for executing instructions orperforming logic operations. The processing device may include at leastone processor configured to perform functions of the disclosed methodssuch as a microprocessor manufactured by Intel™. The processing devicemay include a single core or multiple core processors executing parallelprocesses simultaneously. In one example, the processing device may be asingle core processor configured with virtual processing technologies.The processing device may implement virtual machine technologies orother technologies to provide the ability to execute, control, run,manipulate, store, etc., multiple software processes, applications,programs, etc. In another example, the processing device may include amultiple-core processor arrangement (e.g., dual, quad core, etc.)configured to provide parallel processing functionalities to allow adevice associated with the processing device to execute multipleprocesses simultaneously. It is appreciated that other types ofprocessor arrangements could be implemented to provide the capabilitiesdisclosed herein.

Sensors interface 370, shown in FIG. 3, may obtain sensor data from avariety of sensors, for example, audio sensor 371, image sensor 372,motion sensor 373, environmental sensor 374, and other sensors 375. Inone embodiment, sensors interface 370 may be an integrated circuit thatmay act as bridge between processing device 360 and at least one of thesensors listed above.

Audio sensor 371 may include one or more audio sensors configured tocapture audio by converting sounds to digital information. Some examplesof audio sensors may include: microphones, unidirectional microphones,bidirectional microphones, cardioid microphones, omnidirectionalmicrophones, onboard microphones, wired microphones, wirelessmicrophones, or any combination of the above. Consistent with thepresent disclosure, processing device 360 may modify a presentation ofvirtual content based on data received from audio sensor 371 (e.g.,voice commands).

Image sensor 372 may include one or more image sensors configured tocapture visual information by converting light to image data. Consistentwith the present disclosure, an image sensor may be included in the anydevice or system in the present disclosure and may be any device capableof detecting and converting optical signals in the near-infrared,infrared, visible, and ultraviolet spectrums into electrical signals.Examples of image sensors may include digital cameras, phone cameras,semiconductor Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs), active pixel sensors inComplementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS), or N-typemetal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS, Live MOS). The electrical signals maybe used to generate image data. Consistent with the present disclosure,the image data may include pixel data streams, digital images, digitalvideo streams, data derived from captured images, and data that may beused to construct one or more 3D images, a sequence of 3D images, 3Dvideos, or a virtual 3D representation. The image data acquired by imagesensor 372 may be transmitted by wired or wireless transmission to anyprocessing device of system 200. For example, the image data may beprocessed in order to: detect objects, detect events, detect action,detect face, detect people, recognize a known person, or any otherinformation that may be used by system 200. Consistent with the presentdisclosure, processing device 360 may modify a presentation of virtualcontent based on image data received from image sensor 372.

Motion sensor 373 may include one or more motion sensors configured tomeasure motion of input unit 202 or motion of objects in the environmentof input unit 202. Specifically, the motion sensors may perform at leastone of the following: detect motion of objects in the environment ofinput unit 202, measure the velocity of objects in the environment ofinput unit 202, measure the acceleration of objects in the environmentof input unit 202, detect the motion of input unit 202, measure thevelocity of input unit 202, measure the acceleration of input unit 202,etc. In some embodiments, motion sensor 373 may include one or moreaccelerometers configured to detect changes in proper accelerationand/or to measure proper acceleration of input unit 202. In otherembodiments, motion sensor 373 may include one or more gyroscopesconfigured to detect changes in the orientation of input unit 202 and/orto measure information related to the orientation of input unit 202. Inother embodiments, motion sensor 373 may include one or more using imagesensors, LIDAR sensors, radar sensors, or proximity sensors. Forexample, by analyzing captured images the processing device maydetermine the motion of input unit 202, for example, using ego-motionalgorithms. In addition, the processing device may determine the motionof objects in the environment of input unit 202, for example, usingobject tracking algorithms. Consistent with the present disclosure,processing device 360 may modify a presentation of virtual content basedon the determined motion of input unit 202 or the determined motion ofobjects in the environment of input unit 202. For example, causing avirtual display to follow the movement of input unit 202.

Environmental sensor 374 may include one or more sensors from differenttypes configured to capture data reflective of the environment of inputunit 202. In some embodiments, environmental sensor 374 may include oneor more chemical sensors configured to perform at least one of thefollowing: measure chemical properties in the environment of input unit202, measure changes in the chemical properties in the environment ofinput unit 202, detect the present of chemicals in the environment ofinput unit 202, measure the concentration of chemicals in theenvironment of input unit 202. Examples of such chemical properties mayinclude: pH level, toxicity, and temperature. Examples of such chemicalsmay include: electrolytes, particular enzymes, particular hormones,particular proteins, smoke, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxygen,ozone, hydrogen, and hydrogen sulfide. In other embodiments,environmental sensor 374 may include one or more temperature sensorsconfigured to detect changes in the temperature of the environment ofinput unit 202 and/or to measure the temperature of the environment ofinput unit 202. In other embodiments, environmental sensor 374 mayinclude one or more barometers configured to detect changes in theatmospheric pressure in the environment of input unit 202 and/or tomeasure the atmospheric pressure in the environment of input unit 202.In other embodiments, environmental sensor 374 may include one or morelight sensors configured to detect changes in the ambient light in theenvironment of input unit 202. Consistent with the present disclosure,processing device 360 may modify a presentation of virtual content basedon input from environmental sensor 374. For example, automaticallyreducing the brightness of the virtual content when the environment ofuser 100 becomes darker.

Other sensors 375 may include a weight sensor, alight sensor, aresistive sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometricsensor, or other sensing devices to facilitate related functionalities.In a specific embodiment, other sensors 375 may include one or morepositioning sensors configured to obtain positioning information ofinput unit 202, to detect changes in the position of input unit 202,and/or to measure the position of input unit 202. Alternatively, GPSsoftware may permit input unit 202 to access an external GPS receiver(e.g., connecting via a serial port or Bluetooth). Consistent with thepresent disclosure, processing device 360 may modify a presentation ofvirtual content based on input from other sensors 375. For example,presenting private information only after identifying user 100 usingdata from a biometric sensor.

The components and arrangements shown in FIG. 3 are not intended tolimit the disclosed embodiments. As will be appreciated by a personskilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure, numerousvariations and/or modifications may be made to the depictedconfiguration of input unit 202. For example, not all components may beessential for the operation of an input unit in all cases. Any componentmay be located in any appropriate part of an input unit, and thecomponents may be rearranged into a variety of configurations whileproviding the functionality of the disclosed embodiments. For example,some input units may not include all of the elements as shown in inputunit 202.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary configuration of XR unit 204.FIG. 4 is an exemplary representation of just one embodiment, and it isto be understood that some illustrated elements might be omitted andothers added within the scope of this disclosure. In the embodiment ofFIG. 4. XR unit 204 may directly or indirectly access a bus 400 (orother communication mechanism) that interconnects subsystems andcomponents for transferring information within XR unit 204. For example,bus 400 may interconnect a memory interface 410, a network interface420, an input interface 430, a power source 440, an output interface450, a processing device 460, a sensors interface 470, and a database480.

Memory interface 410, shown in FIG. 4, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of memory interface 310 describedabove in detail. Memory interface 410 may be used to access a softwareproduct and/or data stored on a non-transitory computer-readable mediumor on memory devices, such as memory device 411. Memory device 411 maycontain software modules to execute processes consistent with thepresent disclosure. In particular, memory device 411 may include aninput determination module 412, an output determination module 413, asensors communication module 414, a virtual content determination module415, a virtual content communication module 416, and a database accessmodule 417. Modules 412-417 may contain software instructions forexecution by at least one processor (e.g., processing device 460)associated with XR unit 204. Input determination module 412, outputdetermination module 413, sensors communication module 414, virtualcontent determination module 415, virtual content communication module416, and database access module 417 may cooperate to perform variousoperations. For example, input determination module 412 may determineUser Interface (UI) input received from input unit 202. At the sametime, sensors communication module 414 may receive data from differentsensors to determine a status of user 100. Virtual content determinationmodule 415 may determine the virtual content to display based onreceived input and the determined status of user 100. Virtual contentcommunication module 416 may retrieve virtual content not determined byvirtual content determination module 415. The retrieval of the virtualcontent may be from database 380, database 480, mobile communicationsdevice 206, or from remote processing unit 208. Based on the output ofvirtual content determination module 415, output determination module413 may cause a change in a virtual content displayed to user 100 byprojector 454.

In some embodiments, input determination module 412 may regulate theoperation of input interface 430 in order to receive gesture input 431,virtual input 432, audio input 433, and UI input 434. Consistent withthe present disclosure, input determination module 412 may concurrentlyreceive different types of input data. In one embodiment, inputdetermination module 412 may apply different rules based on the detectedtype of input. For example, gesture input may have precedence overvirtual input. In some embodiments, output determination module 413 mayregulate the operation of output interface 450 in order to generateoutput using light indicators 451, display 452, speakers 453, andprojector 454. In one embodiment, light indicators 451 may include alight indicator that shows the status of the wearable extended realityappliance. For example, the light indicator may display green light whenthe wearable extended reality appliance 110 are connected to input unit202, and blinks when wearable extended reality appliance 110 has lowbattery. In another embodiment, display 452 may be used to displayoperational information. In another embodiment, speakers 453 may includea bone conduction headphone used to output audio to user 100. In anotherembodiment, projector 454 may present virtual content to user 100.

The operations of a sensors communication module, a virtual contentdetermination module, a virtual content communication module, and adatabase access module are described above with reference to FIG. 3,details of which are not repeated herein. Modules 412-417 may beimplemented in software, hardware, firmware, a mix of any of those, orthe like.

Network interface 420, shown in FIG. 4, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of network interface 320, describedabove in detail. The specific design and implementation of networkinterface 420 may depend on the communications network(s) over which XRunit 204 is intended to operate. For example, in some embodiments, XRunit 204 is configured to be selectively connectable by wire to inputunit 202. When connected by wire, network interface 420 may enablecommunications with input unit 202; and when not connected by wire,network interface 420 may enable communications with mobilecommunications device 206.

Input interface 430, shown in FIG. 4, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of input interface 330 describedabove in detail. In this case, input interface 430 may communicate withan image sensor to obtain gesture input 431 (e.g., a finger of user 100pointing to a virtual object), communicate with other XR units 204 toobtain virtual input 432 (e.g., a virtual object shared with XR unit 204or a gesture of avatar detected in the virtual environment), communicatewith a microphone to obtain audio input 433 (e.g., voice commands), andcommunicate with input unit 202 to obtain UI input 434 (e.g., virtualcontent determined by virtual content determination module 315).

Power source 440, shown in FIG. 4, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of power source 340 described above,only it provides electrical energy to power XR unit 204. In someembodiments, power source 440 may be charged by power source 340. Forexample, power source 440 may be wirelessly changed when XR unit 204 isplaced on or in proximity to input unit 202.

Output interface 450, shown in FIG. 4, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of output interlace 350 describedabove in detail. In this case, output interface 450 may cause outputfrom light indicators 451, display 452, speakers 453, and projector 454.Projector 454 may be any device, apparatus, instrument, or the likecapable of projecting (or directing) light in order to display virtualcontent onto a surface. The surface may be part of XR unit 204, part ofan eye of user 100, or part of an object in proximity to user 100. Inone embodiment, projector 454 may include a lighting unit thatconcentrates light within a limited solid angle by means of one or moremirrors and lenses, and provides a high value of luminous intensity in adefined direction.

Processing device 460, shown in FIG. 4, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of processing device 360 describedabove in detail. When XR unit 204 is connected to input unit 202,processing device 460 may work together with processing device 360.Specifically, processing device 460 may implement virtual machinetechnologies or other technologies to provide the ability to execute,control, run, manipulate, store, etc., multiple software processes,applications, programs, etc. It is appreciated that other types ofprocessor arrangements could be implemented to provide the capabilitiesdisclosed herein.

Sensors interface 470, shown in FIG. 4, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of sensors interface 370 describedabove in detail. Specifically sensors interface 470 may communicate withaudio sensor 471, image sensor 472, motion sensor 473, environmentalsensor 474, and other sensors 475. The operations of an audio sensor, animage sensor, a motion sensor, an environmental sensor, and othersensors are described above with reference to FIG. 3, details of whichare not repeated herein. It is appreciated that other types andcombination of sensors may be used to provide the capabilities disclosedherein.

The components and arrangements shown in FIG. 4 are not intended tolimit the disclosed embodiments. As will be appreciated by a personskilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure, numerousvariations and/or modifications may be made to the depictedconfiguration of XR unit 204. For example, not all components may beessential for the operation of XR unit 204 in all cases. Any componentmay be located in any appropriate part of system 200, and the componentsmay be rearranged into a variety of configurations while providing thefunctionality of the disclosed embodiments. For example, some XR unitsmay not include all of the elements in XR unit 204 (e.g., wearableextended reality appliance 110 may not have light indicators 451).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary configuration of remoteprocessing unit 208. FIG. 5 is an exemplary representation of just oneembodiment, and it is to be understood that some illustrated elementsmight be omitted and others added within the scope of this disclosure.In the embodiment of FIG. 5, remote processing unit 208 may include aserver 210 that directly or indirectly accesses a bus 500 (or othercommunication mechanism) interconnecting subsystems and components fortransferring information within server 210. For example, bus 500 mayinterconnect a memory interface 510, a network interface 520, a powersource 540, a processing device 560, and a database 580. Remoteprocessing unit 208 may also include a one or more data structures. Forexample, data structures 212A, 212B, and 212C.

Memory interface 510, shown in FIG. 5, is assumed to have similarfunctionality as the functionality of memory interface 310 describedabove in detail. Memory interface 510 may be used to access a softwareproduct and/or data stored on a non-transitory computer-readable mediumor on other memory devices, such as memory devices 311, 411, 511, ordata structures 212A, 212B, and 212C. Memory device 511 may containsoftware modules to execute processes consistent with the presentdisclosure. In particular, memory device 511 may include a shared memorymodule 512, a node registration module 513, a load balancing module 514,one or more computational nodes 515, an internal communication module516, an external communication module 517, and a database access module(not shown). Modules 512-517 may contain software instructions forexecution by at least one processor (e.g., processing device 560)associated with remote processing unit 208. Shared memory module 512,node registration module 513, load balancing module 514, computationalmodule 515, and external communication module 517 may cooperate toperform various operations.

Shared memory module 512 may allow information sharing between remoteprocessing unit 208 and other components of system 200. In someembodiments, shared memory module 512 may be configured to enableprocessing device 560 (and other processing devices in system 200) toaccess, retrieve, and store data. For example, using shared memorymodule 512, processing device 560 may perform at least one of: executingsoftware programs stored on memory device 511, database 580, or datastructures 212A-C; storing information in memory device 511, database580, or data structures 212A-C; or retrieving information from memorydevice 511, database 580, or data structures 212A-C.

Node registration module 513 may be configured to track the availabilityof one or more computational nodes 515. In some examples, noderegistration module 513 may be implemented as: a software program, suchas a software program executed by one or more computational nodes 515, ahardware solution, or a combined software and hardware solution. In someimplementations, node registration module 513 may communicate with oneor more computational nodes 515, for example, using internalcommunication module 516. In some examples, one or more computationalnodes 515 may notify node registration module 513 of their status, forexample, by sending messages: at startup, at shutdown, at constantintervals, at selected times, in response to queries received from noderegistration module 513, or at any other determined times. In someexamples, node registration module 513 may query about the status of oneor more computational nodes 515, for example, by sending messages: atstartup, at constant intervals, at selected times, or at any otherdetermined times.

Load balancing module 514 may be configured to divide the workload amongone or more computational nodes 515. In some examples, load balancingmodule 514 may be implemented as: a software program, such as a softwareprogram executed by one or more of the computational nodes 515, ahardware solution, or a combined software and hardware solution. In someimplementations, load balancing module 514 may interact with noderegistration module 513 in order to obtain information regarding theavailability of one or more computational nodes 515. In someimplementations, load balancing module 514 may communicate with one ormore computational nodes 515, for example, using internal communicationmodule 516. In some examples, one or more computational nodes 515 maynotify load balancing module 514 of their status, for example, bysending messages: at startup, at shutdown, at constant intervals, atselected times, in response to queries received from load balancingmodule 514, or at any other determined times. In some examples, loadbalancing module 514 may query about the status of one or morecomputational nodes 515, for example, by sending messages: at startup,at constant intervals, at pre-selected times, or at any other determinedtimes.

Internal communication module 516 may be configured to receive and/or totransmit information from one or more components of remote processingunit 208. For example, control signals and/or synchronization signalsmay be sent and/or received through internal communication module 516.In one embodiment, input information for computer programs, outputinformation of computer programs, and/or intermediate information ofcomputer programs may be sent and/or received through internalcommunication module 516. In another embodiment, information receivedthough internal communication module 516 may be stored in memory device511, in database 580, in data structures 212A-C, or other memory devicein system 200. For example, information retrieved from data structure212A may be transmitted using internal communication module 516. Inanother example, input data may be received using internal communicationmodule 516 and stored in data structure 212B.

External communication module 517 may be configured to receive and/or totransmit information from one or more components of system 200. Forexample, control signals may be sent and/or received through externalcommunication module 517. In one embodiment, information received thoughexternal communication module 517 may be stored in memory device 511, indatabase 580, in data structures 212A-C, and or any memory device in thesystem 200. In another embodiment, information retrieved from any ofdata structures 212A-C may be transmitted using external communicationmodule 517 to XR unit 204. In another embodiment, input data may betransmitted and/or received using external communication module 517.Examples of such input data may include data received from input unit202, information captured from the environment of user 100 using one ormore sensors (e.g., audio sensor 471, image sensor 472, motion sensor473, environmental sensor 474, other sensors 475), and more.

In some embodiments, aspects of modules 512-517 may be implemented inhardware, in software (including in one or more signal processing and/orapplication specific integrated circuits), in firmware, or in anycombination thereof, executable by one or more processors, alone, or invarious combinations with each other. Specifically, modules 512-517 maybe configured to interact with each other and/or other modules of system200 to perform functions consistent with disclosed embodiments. Memorydevice 511 may include additional modules and instructions or fewermodules and instructions.

Network interface 520, power source 540, processing device 560, anddatabase 580, shown in FIG. 5, are assumed to have similar functionalityas the functionality of similar elements described above with referenceto FIGS. 4 and 5. The specific design and implementation of theabove-mentioned components may vary based on the implementation ofsystem 200. In addition, remote processing unit 208 may include more orfewer components. For example, remote processing unit 208 may include aninput interface configured to receive direct input from one or moreinput devices.

Consistent with the present disclosure, a processing device of system200 (e.g., processor within mobile communications device 206, aprocessor within a server 210, a processor within a wearable extendedreality appliance, such as, wearable extended reality appliance 110,and/or a processor within an input device associated with wearableextended reality appliance 110, such as keyboard 104) may use machinelearning algorithms in order to implement any of the methods disclosedherein. In some embodiments, machine learning algorithms (also referredto as machine learning models in the present disclosure) may be trainedusing training examples, for example in the cases described below. Somenon-limiting examples of such machine learning algorithms may includeclassification algorithms, data regressions algorithms, imagesegmentation algorithms, visual detection algorithms (such as objectdetectors, face detectors, person detectors, motion detectors, edgedetectors, etc.), visual recognition algorithms (such as facerecognition, person recognition, object recognition, etc.), speechrecognition algorithms, mathematical embedding algorithms, naturallanguage processing algorithms, support vector machines, random forests,nearest neighbors algorithms, deep learning algorithms, artificialneural network algorithms, convolutional neural network algorithms,recurrent neural network algorithms, linear machine learning models,non-linear machine learning models, ensemble algorithms, and more. Forexample, a trained machine learning algorithm may comprise an inferencemodel, such as a predictive model, a classification model, a dataregression model, a clustering model, a segmentation model, anartificial neural network (such as a deep neural network, aconvolutional neural network, a recurrent neural network, etc.), arandom forest, a support vector machine, and so forth. In some examples,the training examples may include example inputs together with thedesired outputs corresponding to the example inputs. Further, in someexamples, training machine learning algorithms using the trainingexamples may generate a trained machine learning algorithm, and thetrained machine learning algorithm may be used to estimate outputs forinputs not included in the training examples. In some examples,engineers, scientists, processes and machines that train machinelearning algorithms may further use validation examples and/or testexamples. For example, validation examples and/or test examples mayinclude example inputs together with the desired outputs correspondingto the example inputs, a trained machine learning algorithm and/or anintermediately trained machine learning algorithm may be used toestimate outputs for the example inputs of the validation examplesand/or test examples, the estimated outputs may be compared to thecorresponding desired outputs, and the trained machine learningalgorithm and/or the intermediately trained machine learning algorithmmay be evaluated based on a result of the comparison. In some examples,a machine learning algorithm may have parameters and hyper parameters,where the hyper parameters may be set manually by a person orautomatically by an process external to the machine learning algorithm(such as a hyper parameter search algorithm), and the parameters of themachine learning algorithm may be set by the machine learning algorithmbased on the training examples. In some implementations, thehyper-parameters may be set based on the training examples and thevalidation examples, and the parameters may be set based on the trainingexamples and the selected hyper-parameters. For example, given thehyper-parameters, the parameters may be conditionally independent of thevalidation examples.

In some embodiments, trained machine learning algorithms (also referredto as machine learning models and trained machine learning models in thepresent disclosure) may be used to analyze inputs and generate outputs,for example in the cases described below. In some examples, a trainedmachine learning algorithm may be used as an inference model that whenprovided with an input generates an inferred output. For example, atrained machine learning algorithm may include a classificationalgorithm, the input may include a sample, and the inferred output mayinclude a classification of the sample (such as an inferred label, aninferred tag, and so forth). In another example, a trained machinelearning algorithm may include a regression model, the input may includea sample, and the inferred output may include an inferred valuecorresponding to the sample. In yet another example, a trained machinelearning algorithm may include a clustering model, the input may includea sample, and the inferred output may include an assignment of thesample to at least one cluster. In an additional example, a trainedmachine learning algorithm may include a classification algorithm, theinput may include an image, and the inferred output may include aclassification of an item depicted in the image. In yet another example,a trained machine learning algorithm may include a regression model, theinput may include an image, and the inferred output may include aninferred value corresponding to an item depicted in the image (such asan estimated property of the item, such as size, volume, age of a persondepicted in the image, distance from an item depicted in the image, andso forth). In an additional example, a trained machine learningalgorithm may include an image segmentation model, the input may includean image, and the inferred output may include a segmentation of theimage. In yet another example, a trained machine learning algorithm mayinclude an object detector, the input may include an image, and theinferred output may include one or more detected objects in the imageand/or one or more locations of objects within the image. In someexamples, the trained machine learning algorithm may include one or moreformulas and/or one or more functions and/or one or more rules and/orone or more procedures, the input may be used as input to the formulasand/or functions and/or rules and/or procedures, and the inferred outputmay be based on the outputs of the formulas and/or functions and/orrules and/or procedures (for example, selecting one of the outputs ofthe formulas and/or functions and/or rules and/or procedures, using astatistical measure of the outputs of the formulas and/or functionsand/or rules and/or procedures, and so forth).

Consistent with the present disclosure, a processing device of system200 may analyze image data captured by an image sensor (e.g., imagesensor 372, image sensor 472, or any other image sensor) in order toimplement any of the methods disclosed herein. In some embodiments,analyzing the image data may comprise analyzing the image data to obtaina preprocessed image data, and subsequently analyzing the image dataand/or the preprocessed image data to obtain the desired outcome. One ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that the followings areexamples, and that the image data may be preprocessed using other kindsof preprocessing methods. In some examples, the image data may bepreprocessed by transforming the image data using a transformationfunction to obtain a transformed image data, and the preprocessed imagedata may comprise the transformed image data. For example, thetransformed image data may comprise one or more convolutions of theimage data. For example, the transformation function may comprise one ormore image filters, such as low-pass filters, high-pass filters,band-pass filters, all-pass filters, and so forth. In some examples, thetransformation function may comprise a nonlinear function. In someexamples, the image data may be preprocessed by smoothing at least partsof the image data, for example using Gaussian convolution, using amedian filter, and so forth. In some examples, the image data may bepreprocessed to obtain a different representation of the image data. Forexample, the preprocessed image data may comprise: a representation ofat least part of the image data in a frequency domain; a DiscreteFourier Transform of at least part of the image data; a Discrete WaveletTransform of at least part of the image data; a time/frequencyrepresentation of at least part of the image data; a representation ofat least part of the image data in a lower dimension; a lossyrepresentation of at least part of the image data; a losslessrepresentation of at least part of the image data; a time ordered seriesof any of the above; any combination of the above; and so forth. In someexamples, the image data may be preprocessed to extract edges, and thepreprocessed image data may comprise information based on and/or relatedto the extracted edges. In some examples, the image data may bepreprocessed to extract image features from the image data. Somenon-limiting examples of such image features may comprise informationbased on and/or related to: edges; corners; blobs; ridges; ScaleInvariant Feature Transform (SIFT) features; temporal features; and soforth. In some examples, analyzing the image data may includecalculating at least one convolution of at least a portion of the imagedata, and using the calculated at least one convolution to calculate atleast one resulting value and/or to make determinations,identifications, recognitions, classifications, and so forth.

Consistent with other aspects of the disclosure, a processing device ofsystem 200 may analyze image data in order to implement any of themethods disclosed herein. In some embodiments, analyzing the image maycomprise analyzing the image data and/or the preprocessed image datausing one or more rules, functions, procedures, artificial neuralnetworks, object detection algorithms, face detection algorithms, visualevent detection algorithms, action detection algorithms, motiondetection algorithms, background subtraction algorithms, inferencemodels, and so forth. Some non-limiting examples of such inferencemodels may include: an inference model preprogrammed manually; aclassification model: a regression model; a result of trainingalgorithms, such as machine learning algorithms and/or deep learningalgorithms, on training examples, where the training examples mayinclude examples of data instances, and in some cases, a data instancemay be labeled with a corresponding desired label and/or result, andmore. In some embodiments, analyzing image data (for example by themethods, steps and modules described herein) may comprise analyzingpixels, voxels, point cloud, range data, etc. included in the imagedata.

A convolution may include a convolution of any dimension. Aone-dimensional convolution is a function that transforms an originalsequence of numbers to a transformed sequence of numbers. Theone-dimensional convolution may be defined by a sequence of scalars.Each particular value in the transformed sequence of numbers may bedetermined by calculating a linear combination of values in asubsequence of the original sequence of numbers corresponding to theparticular value. A result value of a calculated convolution may includeany value in the transformed sequence of numbers. Likewise, ann-dimensional convolution is a function that transforms an originaln-dimensional array to a transformed array. The n-dimensionalconvolution may be defined by an n-dimensional array of scalars (knownas the kernel of the n-dimensional convolution). Each particular valuein the transformed array may be determined by calculating a linearcombination of values in an n-dimensional region of the original arraycorresponding to the particular value. A result value of a calculatedconvolution may include any value in the transformed array. In someexamples, an image may comprise one or more components (such as colorcomponents, depth component, etc.), and each component may include atwo-dimensional array of pixel values. In one example, calculating aconvolution of an image may include calculating a two-dimensionalconvolution on one or more components of the image. In another example,calculating a convolution of an image may include stacking arrays fromdifferent components to create a three-dimensional array, andcalculating a three-dimensional convolution on the resultingthree-dimensional array. In some examples, a video may comprise one ormore components (such as color components, depth component, etc.), andeach component may include a three-dimensional array of pixel values(with two spatial axes and one temporal axis). In one example,calculating a convolution of a video may include calculating athree-dimensional convolution on one or more components of the video. Inanother example, calculating a convolution of a video may includestacking arrays from different components to create a four-dimensionalarray, and calculating a four-dimensional convolution on the resultingfour-dimensional array.

Some disclosed embodiments may include systems, methods, andnon-transitory computer readable media configured for enabling contentsharing between users of wearable extended reality appliances. Contentsharing may involve the presentation by one entity to another of text,images, programs, or any other information. The content may be sharedbetween users of wearable extended reality appliances, so that oneentity wearing an appliance may view or otherwise have access to contentavailable via the wearable extended reality appliance of another.Content sharing may be enabled in many different ways. In someembodiments, enabling may occur through a link between two extendedreality appliances. In one example, the link may include a direct and/orin-direct communication link between the two extended realityappliances. In another example, a system (such as a centralized system)may be in communication with each one of the two extended realityappliances, for example to provide each one of the two extended realityappliances content for presentation, to receive location and/ororientation information associated with the extended reality appliances,and/or any other information pertaining to presenting content. The linkmay include a linkage in a data-structure or a database of the system ormaintained by the system. In one non-limiting example, a detectedproximity of two entities may trigger an automatic or selectable sharingof content. In other embodiments, one entity may select content forsharing either with a group or an individual or may tie content to aphysical or virtual location enabling anyone accessing that location toview the content. In some embodiments, content sharing may be enabledthrough permissions, where viewing of shared content is only enabled forentities with appropriate authority. In yet other embodiments, rules maydefine with whom content may be shared. In further exemplaryembodiments, sharing may be enabled via a request sent from oneappliance to another. Content sharing may be initiated in someembodiments as the result of signals from one or more sensors. Forexample, one or more image sensors might detect a gesture indicative ofan intent to share content. Or a proximity sensor may trigger an abilityto share when two wearable extended reality appliances are in proximityto each other. There are many different ways in which content sharingmay be enabled consistent with this disclosure, and this disclosure isnot limited to any particular one.

Some disclosed embodiments may include computer readable mediacontaining instructions that when executed by at least one processorcause the at least one processor to establish a link between a firstwearable extended reality appliance and a second wearable extendedreality appliance. In some embodiments, establishing a link may refer toany means of communicating between the first wearable extended realityappliance and the second extended wearable reality appliance. In someembodiments, there may be a formal protocol that governs how the firstwearable extended reality appliance and the second wearable extendedreality appliance transmit and receive data. Such protocols may includebut are not limited to Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocols(TCP/IP), Bluetooth, Infrared, Near Field Communication, Ultra-WideBand, WiFi, Zig-Bee, short-range communication protocol, and/orlong-range communication protocol. Such means of communication betweenthe first wearable extended reality appliance and the second wearableextended reality appliance may include, but are not limited to, LocalArea Network (LAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Virtual PrivateNetwork (VPN), an indirect communication link, and/or by a directedcommunication link. The processor may cause the first wearable extendedreality appliance to initiate communication with a second wearableextended reality appliance via one or more of the above-identifiedprotocols. In some examples, establishing a link may refer to linkage ina data-structure and/or a database, for example in system coordinatingan extended reality environment, in a system that communicates with boththe first and the second wearable extended reality appliances, and/or ina system that provides content for presentation for both the first andthe second wearable extended reality appliance.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve establishing the link (forexample, the communication link, the link in the data-structure and/or adatabase) and enabling information exchange when the first wearableextended reality appliance is detected in proximity to the secondwearable extended reality appliance. Such instructions may be configuredbased on a threshold distance, and this threshold distance may varybetween users of the extended reality appliance. For example, the firstwearable extended reality appliance user may prefer to initiate a linkwith the second wearable extended reality appliance at a shorterthreshold distance, for instance one or two meters, when a particulartype of user is around, such as a family member. By contrast, the samefirst wearable extended reality appliance user may prefer to initiate alink with the second wearable extended reality appliance at a longerthreshold distance in order to facilitate communication with a colleagueor team member. The user may be free to update threshold distancesettings depending on the user's preference.

In some examples, the communication link between the wearable extendedreality appliances may be through intermediate devices. Intermediatedevices may include any networking device positioned between a RemoteAccess Server (RAS) and a RAS client. Intermediate devices may aid inproviding connectivity between two separate wearable extended realityappliances. An intermediate device may provide an extra layer ofsecurity before a communication link between two wearable extendedreality appliances is established. For example, when security protocolsare not satisfied, the intermediate device may prevent establishment ofa connection between the two extended reality appliances.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve presenting through the firstwearable extended reality appliance first virtual content. The virtualcontent may take on a variety of different forms and may includedocuments, photos, videos, virtual characters, and any other sharablemedia that can be transmitted wirelessly. In some examples, the virtualcontent may be presented as part of an extended reality environment. Inother examples, virtual content may be displayed on a physical screen,such as a TV, tablet, laptop, or smartphone, or it may be displayed on avirtual screen, such as through one or more extended reality appliances.

Some disclosed embodiments may include obtaining a first command todisplay the first virtual content via the second wearable extendedreality appliance. A first command may refer to a signal received fromthe at least one processor to display virtual content via the secondwearable extended reality appliance. In another example, the firstcommand may refer to a command obtained from a user, and/or in responseto an action of the user. The non-transitory computer readable mediummay be configured to share content and may contain instructions for theat least one processor to send a signal to the first wearable extendedreality appliance to display virtual content.

In some disclosed embodiments, obtaining the first command to presentvirtual content may include a sharing intent in data captured by thefirst wearable extended reality appliance. A sharing intent may refer toa user's desire to present virtual content to another user or toexchange virtual content with another user. In one example, a machinelearning model may be trained using training examples to identifysharing intent by analyzing captured data. An example of such a trainingexample may include sample captured data, together with a labelindicating whether the sample capture data corresponds to a sharingintent and/or a parameter of the sharing intent (for example, an intentto share a particular content, an intent to share content presented in aparticular area, an intent to share content with a particular entity,and/or an intent to share content in a particular way). The trainedmachine learning model may be used to analyze the data captured by thefirst wearable extended reality appliance and identify the sharingintent and/or parameters of the sharing intent. For example, a user'ssharing intent may be identified in captured image data. Somenon-limiting examples of such captured image data may include image data(such as one or more images and/or one or more videos) captured using animage sensor included in the first wearable extended reality appliance,included in the second wearable extended reality appliance, included ina device in an environment of the first and the second wearable extendedreality appliances (the device may differ from the first and the secondwearable extended reality appliances, such as another wearable extendedreality appliance, a stationary camera mounted in a room, and/or anyother device that may capture image or video data). A user's sharingintent may be identified by analyzing the image data to detect movementor a change of position or orientation of an object in the capturedimage data. For example, a user's sharing intent may be identified bydetecting a movement of the user's hand (e.g., user is waving theirhand), by using a visual gesture recognition algorithm to analyze theimage data. In another example, a user's sharing intent may beidentified by detecting that a user has moved a piece of hardware in theone or more captured images, for example using a visual object trackingalgorithm. Additionally, such a sharing intent may be captured if a usermoves a linger, nods their head, touches their extended realityappliance, or otherwise gestures to another user that he or she wishesto share content. In some examples, a machine learning model may betrained using training examples to identify sharing intent by analyzingimages and/or videos. An example of such training example may include asample image and/or a sample video, together with a label indicatingwhether the sample image and/or sample video corresponds to a sharingintent and/or a parameter of the sharing intent (for example, an intentto share a particular content, an intent to share content presented in aparticular area, an intent to share content with a particular entity, anintent to share content in a particular way, and/or intent to sharecontent at a particular time). The trained machine learning model may beused to analyze the captured image data and identify the sharing intentand/or parameters of the sharing intent. In some examples, a convolutionof at least part of the image data may be calculated to obtain a resultvalue of the calculated convolution. In one example, in response to afirst result value of the calculated convolution, a sharing intent ofthe first virtual content may be identified, and in response to a secondresult value of the calculated convolution, no sharing intent of thefirst virtual content may be identified. In another example, in responseto a first result value of the calculated convolution, a sharing intentof one virtual content may be identified, and in response to a secondresult value of the calculated convolution, a sharing intent of anothervirtual content may be identified.

By way of example, FIG. 6 illustrates a sharing intent of first extendedreality appliance user 610 via a sharing movement 612. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 6, hand waving by first user 610 reflects an intentto share virtual content 614 with second extended reality appliance user616.

Hardware that may be used to capture a user's sharing intent may includea pointer, keyboard, mouse, joystick, or any other object designed tofacilitate sharing data. Such a sharing intent may be captured when auser moves the hardware, such as a mouse or a joystick, towards anotheruser. In some embodiments, a user's sharing intent may also bedetermined when the user waves a wand, presses a button on a keyboard,or otherwise gestures with respect to another user. In some embodiments,identification of sharing intent based on captured data from hardwaremay be configured based on a user's preference, and may not be limitedto moving the hardware towards a second user.

A user's preference refers to how a particular wearable extended realityappliance user chooses to configure their appliance to share virtualcontent. For example, one user may prefer to share virtual content via ahand movement, whereas another user may prefer to share content via apointer or joystick. Alternatively, users may be permitted to definegesture preferences for sharing content.

In some embodiments, the sharing intent may also be identified incaptured voice data. For example, the captured voice data may includeaudio data captured using an audio sensor included in the first wearableextended reality appliance, using an audio sensor included in the secondwearable extended reality appliance, and/or using an audio sensorincluded in another device. In one example, a user may verbally initiatesharing through a voice command. The command may include, but is notlimited to, for example. “share content,” “transmit content.” “displaycontent,” “present content,” or any other word combination that may beconstrued as a request to share content with another user. Additionally,the verbal command may name a second user specifically, and may take theform of, for example, “share content with User X.” Verbal commands mayalso be configured based on a user's preference. In one example, thecaptured voice data may be analyzing using a speech recognitionalgorithm to identify voice commands corresponding to the sharing intentand/or parameters of the sharing intent.

Each unique wearable extended reality appliance user's preferences, asdescribed above, may be stored in the non-transitory computer readablemedium enabled for control of content sharing.

In some embodiments, the sharing intent may be identified in capturedpositioning data. Such positioning data may be captured based on thefirst wearable extended reality appliance user's position and/ororientation, based on position and/or orientation of the first wearableextended reality appliance, and/or based on position and/or orientationof a device associated the first wearable extended reality appliance(for example, of another device used by a user of the first wearableextended reality appliance, such as a keyboard, a glove, and/or apointing device). For example, a sharing intent may be identified when auser positions their body and wearable extended reality appliance closerto another user's. By way of another example, the sharing intent may beidentified when a user stands from a sitting position, leans over toanother user, or otherwise positions their body or extended realityappliance in such a way as to indicate a sharing intent. Sharing intentbased on positioning data may also be configured based on a user'spreference. In one example, the position and/or orientation may bedetermined by analyzing data captured using a sensor included the firstwearable extended reality appliance and/or in a different device, suchas a positioning sensor (such as an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and/or aGPS sensor), and/or an image sensor (for example by analyzing the imagedata captured using the image sensor using ego-motion algorithms, and/orusing visual object tracking algorithms).

In some embodiments, obtaining the first command may include identifyinga sharing intent associated with an action performed in an extendedreality environment (such as a virtual reality environment, an augmentedreality environment, and/or a mixed reality environment). As describedin the below paragraphs, an action performed in an extended realityenvironment may include sharing content via a sharing bubble or asharing ring, or by automatically sharing content with another wearableextended reality appliance user upon establishing a link between the twoor more wearable extended reality appliances.

In some embodiments, identifying the sharing intent may includedetermining that a first user of the first wearable extended realityappliance changed an orientation of a virtual screen presenting thefirst virtual content towards a second user of the second wearableextended reality appliance. In one example, determining that a firstuser of the first wearable extended reality appliance changed anorientation of the virtual screen towards a second user may includedetermining that the virtual screen is oriented towards the second user,and determining that the virtual screen became oriented towards thesecond user as a result of an action of the first user (and not, forexample, as a result of a movement of the second user). In one example,determining whether the virtual screen became oriented towards thesecond user as a result of an action of the first user may be based onan analysis of movements of the second user and/or movements of thevirtual screen and/or inputs leading to the movements of the virtualscreen. For example, at least one of a system coordinating an extendedreality environment, a system that communicates with both the first andthe second wearable extended reality appliances, a system that providescontent for presentation for both the first and the second wearableextended reality appliance, or the first wearable extended realityappliance may determine that an orientation of the virtual screenchanged towards the second user. Based on the first wearable extendedreality appliance user's preference, this may manifest a sharing intentwith the second user. In some examples, a first angle may be an anglebetween a surface corresponding to the virtual screen and a directionassociated with a user of the first wearable extended reality appliance,a second angle may be an angle between a surface corresponding to thevirtual screen and a direction associated with a user of the secondwearable extended reality appliance, and the determination that theorientation of the virtual screen presenting the first virtual contentchanged towards the second user of the second wearable extended realitymay be based on the first angle and the second angle. Some non-limitingexamples of such direction associated with a user may include adirection of a head of the user, a direction of a body of the user, adirection of a gaze and/or an eye of the user, a fixation line directionof the user, a line of sight direction of the user, a visual axisdirection of the user, a pupillary axis direction of the user, anoptical axis direction of the user, and/or a direction associated withan orientation of the wearable extended reality appliance of the user.In one example, a function of the first angle and the second angle maybe calculated and compared with a threshold to determine whether theorientation of the virtual screen presenting the first virtual contentchanged towards the second user. In another example, a machine learningmodel may be trained using training examples to determine whetherorientations of virtual screens are changed towards users based onangles and/or distances. An example of such training example may includesample angles of a sample virtual screen with respect to sample usersand/or sample distances of the sample virtual screen from the sampleusers, together with a label indicating whether the sample virtualscreen is oriented towards each one of the samples users. The trainedmachine learning model may be used to analyze the first angle, thesecond angle, and possibly the distances of the users from the virtualscreen, to determine that the virtual screen is oriented towards thesecond user.

Furthermore, the user of the second wearable extended reality appliancemay be located within proximity, whether a physical threshold distanceor virtual proximity, of the virtual screen. In one example, the sharingintent may be determined if a user of the first wearable extendedreality appliance leans or nods towards the user of the second wearableextended reality appliance, such that the change in orientation may becaptured. The user of the second wearable extended reality appliance mayalso be a representation of the user, such as an avatar. Thus, a firstuser may share content based on a change in orientation even if thesecond user was not physically located next to the first user.

In some embodiments, identifying the sharing intent may includedetermining that a first user of the first wearable extended realityappliance moved the first virtual content towards a virtual sharingspace surrounding a second user of the second wearable extended realityappliance. In one example, the virtual sharing space surrounding asecond user may be referred to as a sharing bubble. For example, the atleast one processor may be configured to detect an action that may takethe form of a gesture, a dragging of the first virtual content, or otherphysical movements made by the first user. The at least one processormay be configured to determine movement of a first virtual contenttowards a virtual sharing space based on the detected gesture, dragging,or other physical movement. This sharing action may also be based onpeople's natural movement to lean towards other people with whom theywish to share content. Such movements may be detected by one or moresensors within at least one extended reality appliance, or via a sensorassociated with another device.

The virtual sharing space in the above embodiment, known as a sharingbubble, may be determined automatically in a myriad of different ways.For example, the virtual sharing space may be determined based on aposition and/or a movement of the second user and/or the second wearableextended reality appliance. For example, the virtual sharing space mayinclude a space within a selected distance from the second user and/orthe second wearable extended reality appliance. In this embodiment, whena first user is within a certain distance of a second user, virtualcontent may be automatically shared with the second user. In anotherexample, the sharing bubble may be elongated in the direction of themovement. In yet another example, the sharing bubble may be larger inhorizontal directions than in vertical directions.

The sharing bubble may be a space around a user. This space may bedefined in a variety of different ways. In some embodiments, the sizeand/or orientation of a bubble surrounding one or more users may bedetermined by the number of users, the positions of the user, thepositions of other people not belonging to the bubble, the orientationsof the users, the orientations of other people not belonging to thebubble, the identities of the users, the identities of the users notbelonging to the bubble, the positions of inanimate objects in thevicinity of the users, the types of the inanimate objects in thevicinity of the users, the status of the inanimate objects in thevicinity of the users, motion patterns of the users, motion patterns ofother people not belonging to the bubble, preferences of the users, pastbehavior of the users, gestures of the users, and/or other factorsregarding proximity of users to one another. In one example, atopological function of one of more of these parameters may define thespace of the sharing bubble.

When the virtual sharing bubbles of two or more users collide, the twoor more users may be automatically offered an opportunity to create anew shared bubble in which virtual content items may be shared among theextended realities of the two or more users. The at least one processormay be configured to determine that there is an overlap between virtualsharing bubbles, and in response the at least one processor may suggestto the users of the overlapping bubbles that virtual content may beshared between those users. A user's wearable extended reality appliancemay also be configured to share content automatically upon overlappingwith another user's bubble.

By way of example, FIG. 7A illustrates a pair of users 714 and 716. Asillustrated in FIG. 7A, first wearable extended reality appliance user714 may have an associated virtual sharing bubble 710 and secondwearable extended reality appliance user 716 may have an associatedvirtual sharing bubble 718. Virtual sharing bubble 710 of first wearableextended reality appliance user 714 may come into contact with andoverlap with virtual sharing bubble 718 of second wearable extendedreality appliance user 716 when, for example, first wearable extendedreality appliance user 714 moves towards a second user 716. FIG. 7Billustrates a condition in which virtual sharing bubble 710 overlapswith virtual sharing bubble 718 via overlapping region 720. Virtualcontent 712 may be automatically shared with second wearable extendedreality appliance user 716 when the sharing bubbles 710 and 718 overlapin, for example, overlapping region 720, and/or when the volume ofoverlapping region 720 is above a selected volume threshold. In oneexample, the volume threshold may be selected by configuration, by auser, as a function of a volume of virtual sharing bubble 710 and/or ofa volume of virtual sharing bubble 718, of the users 714, 716, and/or ofthe virtual content 712.

By way of example. FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a combined virtual sharingbubble 810 after the sharing bubbles from first extended realityappliance user 812 and second extended reality appliance user 816overlap, as shown in FIG. 8A. While virtual content 814 may beautomatically shared when these virtual sharing bubbles overlap, asshown in FIG. 8B, virtual content 814 may also be shared automaticallywhen a first user 812 leans towards a second user 816 (for example, whenfirst user 812 leans towards second user 816 when the virtual sharingbubbles overlap). The combined sharing bubble 810 may reduce in size thecloser users get to one another.

The virtual sharing space may also be determined based on a usage modeof the second wearable extended reality appliance, the user, the secondwearable extended reality appliance, and/or objects surrounding thesecond wearable extended reality appliance. For example, a user mayconfigure the extended reality appliance to automatically share contentwhen that user enters a room, passes a second user's desk, or walkswithin proximity of any other object in a room. Additionally, a usagemode may be configured to automatically share content with some users,and to not share the content with others.

A usage mode may refer to the different settings a user configures theirextended reality system (for example, their wearable extended realityappliance) based on the different tasks they wish to accomplish. Forexample, one usage mode may apply only to activities performed in theworkplace. In this example, certain types of content, includingdocuments and emails, may be shared at a certain distance between twowearable extended reality appliance users. In another example, a usagemode may apply only to activities performed at home. A user may wish toshare a video, for example, but not any documents or emails.

In some embodiments, identifying the sharing intent may also includedetermining that a first user of the first wearable extended realityappliance moved the first virtual content towards a defined, sharingspace. For example, additionally or alternatively to automaticallysharing content when two extended reality appliance users move towardseach other, a user may create a sharing space based on predefinedparameters, such as length, width, height, and/or location in a room.Instead of sharing content when two users' virtual sharing bubblesoverlap, the sharing intent may be determined when users move contenttowards and/or into such a predefined space. In contrast with thesharing bubble that encompasses each user and has been described above,this sharing intent may be referred to as a sharing ring, as itscharacteristics are predefined by an extended reality appliance user.Sharing rings may be configured based on a user's preferences. Inparticular, the location and/or size of a sharing ring may be configuredby each user of a wearable extended reality appliance.

Some non-limiting examples of such a virtual sharing space may include aring, a rectangle, a cube, a sphere, a convex shape, a non-convex shape,a smooth shape, an irregular shape, or any other well-defined shape. Insome examples, the virtual sharing space may be anchored to a physicallocation, may be anchored to a physical object, may be created by auser, or may be created based on any other predefined characteristic. Avirtual sharing space (such as a sharing ring) may have anytwo-dimensional or three-dimensional shape, and are not limited torings. In one example, a virtual sharing space (such as a sharing ring)may be anchored to an object and configured to move with the object. Forexample, a virtual sharing space may be anchored to a keyboard, an inputdevice, an output device, a chair or a desk associated with a particularuser, and moving virtual content into that virtual sharing space maycause the virtual content to be shared with the particular user. In anexample of a desk, the virtual sharing space may correspond to at leastpart of an area of a top surface of the desk. In an example of a chair,the virtual sharing space may correspond to a three-dimensional shapeencompassing at least part of the chair. In an example of a keyboard,the keyboard may be placed on a desk, and the virtual sharing space maycorrespond to at least part of an area of a top surface of the desk, forexample a part of the area of the top surface of the desk in a vicinityof the keyboard. Sharing content may also be based on a predefinedprivacy setting, which may be configured by an extended realityappliance user. In some examples, content may be shared between twousers, may be shared with the public, may be shared among a plurality ofusers, or may include any other combination of public and privatesharing. The type and level of sharing and/or the identity of the usersthat may access the virtual content may be determined based on thevirtual sharing space, the content, the user, or any other factors basedon the where the user is located. In the sharing space, movement of thevirtual content may be a result of an action of a user of the firstwearable extended reality appliance. Such an action may take the formof, for example, a gesture, a dragging of the first virtual content, orany other physical movement or movement involving the first virtualcontent.

By way of example. FIG. 9 illustrates a sharing ring 914, which may be apredefined virtual sharing space created by a first wearable extendedreality appliance user 910, a virtual sharing space created by a user ofanother wearable extended reality appliance (such as one of users 918 ora user of a different wearable extended reality appliance), a virtualsharing space created by a user not using a wearable extended realityappliance, and/or an automatically generated virtual sharing space.First user 910 may place virtual content 912 in a predefined area 914such that virtual content 912, previously only visible to the firstwearable extended reality appliance user 910, becomes shared content 916that may be visible to other extended reality appliance users 918.

In some examples, virtual content items may be shared based on people'snatural movement and/or based on a user moving a virtual display screenand placing it in a location which is visible to other users orparticipants. For example, it may be recognized that there is a handmovement or a gesture, and in response a virtual content item (such as avirtual display screen) may be shared with the relevant users. In someembodiments, all participants may see the virtual display screen dockedin the same location. In some embodiments, a virtual content item may besimultaneously viewed in a public region by a plurality of participantsand in private mode as an additional/duplicate virtual display screen ofa particular user, docked to where the users choose. For example, a usermay prefer to see a virtual content item from a closer distance,especially if it includes text, may prefer to add private overlay to thevirtual content item, or any other configurations. In one example,virtual content items with lower levels of privacy may be shared withoutneed of user approval. In one example, public content items may beviewed in shared and private modes, and shared content may be viewed inprivate mode.

In some embodiments, for example, the sharing of virtual content may betriggered when a first user and a second user's sharing bubble overlap,or when a user shares content in a predefined area. i.e., a sharingring, or by any other mean discussed herein. However, before virtualcontent between a first wearable extended reality appliance and a secondwearable extended reality appliance may be shared, a non-transitorycomputer readable medium may establish a link between the twoappliances. In some embodiments, virtual content may be automaticallyshared via a virtual sharing space when the link between the firstwearable extended reality appliance and the second extended realityappliance is established. A processor may automatically generate thesharing of virtual content when the first and second wearable extendedreality appliances are linked so as to communicate with each other. Theshared virtual content may be selected based on the preference of theusers of the first and/or second extended reality appliances. Whether asharing is created immediately after establishing a link may be based ona user's preference, and the extended reality appliance may beconfigured for different uses.

For example, one user may configure their wearable extended realityappliance or system to automatically share content in the workplace. Inthis example, the appliance may be configured to share content at alonger distance, such as when a coworker is in view, and the content maybe limited to documents and emails. In another example, a user mayconfigure their wearable extended reality appliance or system toautomatically share content at home. In this example, the appliance maybe configured to only automatically share content at a shorter distance,such as when a family member is directly next to the user. Such virtualcontent may be limited to videos and music and may not include documentsor emails.

In some embodiments, a visualization of the virtual sharing space may bepresented by each of the first wearable extended reality appliance andthe second wearable extended reality appliance. For example, on atypical computer screen, one can share a document by dragging anddropping files between different folders, such as a Dropbox folder. Incontrast, in some embodiments of the disclosure, sharing virtual objectsdoes not have to be limited to folders. Rather, virtual objects may beshared via a virtual box, a virtual window, or otherwise marked area. Avirtual box may refer to a space on a virtual display presented by thefirst or second wearable extended reality appliance where multiple usersmay share virtual content. This sharing act may also take place in thethree-dimensional space virtual space, and the act of sharing virtualobjects between such a folder, a virtual box, or a window may be visibleto users of both the first and second wearable extended realityappliances. In some examples, the visualization of the virtual sharingspace may include a visual indication of a border of the virtual sharingspace, a visual indication of a volume of the virtual sharing space,and/or a visual indication of a center of the virtual sharing space.Some non-limiting examples of such visual indicators may include virtualcolorization of a surface or a volume, virtually highlighting a surfaceor a volume, and/or one or more virtual visual symbols at selectedlocations. When a user virtually moves virtual content towards and/orinto the visualized virtual sharing space, a sharing of the movedvirtual content may be triggered. For example, the user may move thevirtual content using gestures, using a computer pointing device, usingtextual inputs, and/or using voice commands.

In some embodiments, a location of the virtual sharing space may bedetermined based on a location of a physical object in an environment ofthe first wearable extended reality appliance. For example, certainphysical objects such as whiteboards or other display surfaces may belinked to a virtual sharing space such that anyone with permissions andin the vicinity of that object may have access to shared content. Insome embodiments, an extended reality appliance user may select anobject for defining a virtual sharing space. For example, a piece ofartwork on a wall or a physical object on a table may be selected as abasis for a virtual sharing space, and upon detection of the selectedobject, a virtual display screen may appear in a region adjacent theselected object.

By way of example. FIG. 10A illustrates a sharing bubble, wherein thesecond wearable extended reality appliance 1012 receives first virtualcontent 1014 from the second wearable extended reality appliance 1010via sharing region 1016. Such virtual content may also be shared via asharing ring as shown in FIG. 9.

In another example, FIG. 10B illustrates presenting received virtualcontent. Here, the second wearable extended reality appliance 1012presents first virtual content 1014 received from the first wearableextended reality appliance 1010. The virtual content may be presentedvia the wearable extended reality appliance on a screen such as a tabletor TV, via the appliance itself, or any other physical object, asrepresented by the square in FIG. 10B.

Some embodiments may provide an indicator via the first wearableextended reality appliance upon the first virtual content beingpresented via the second wearable extended reality appliance. Anindicator may refer to any sort of mark, annotation, or signal thatinforms a user that his or her content is being displayed on another'sextended reality appliance. Additionally, the indicator may bedemonstrative of whether the content is privately shared, publiclyshared, shared with a particular individual (and/or the identity of theparticular individual), shared with a particular group (and/or theidentity of the particular group), and other public or private sharingoptions. As another example, the indicator may inform whether a user ofthe second wearable extended reality appliance has included annotationsor other comments on the first virtual content, or has edited ortransformed the first virtual content. In one example, the indicatorprovided via the first wearable extended reality appliance may be anaudible indicator. In another example, the indicator provided via thefirst wearable extended reality appliance may be a visual indicator. Forexample, the visual indicator may be present on or in conjunction withthe first virtual content. In another example, the visual indicator mayinclude a visual modification to a presentation of the first virtualcontent.

There are many ways in which virtual content may be shared betweenwearable extended reality appliance users. Content may be shared via asharing bubble or a sharing ring. A first wearable extended realityappliance user may share content, via a sharing bubble or sharing ring,with a second wearable extended reality appliance user. In the aboveembodiments, the second wearable extended reality appliance user maydisplay content received from the first user. This content may bedisplayed in a myriad of ways, whether it be through the second user'sextended reality appliance, via a screen such as a tablet or TV, a flatsurface such as a wall, window, or chalkboard, and/or any other physicalobject that a user may designate to present virtual content. Forexample, the second wearable extended reality appliance, after receivingvirtual content from the first user, may display the content via thesecond appliance, and/or via a TV or whiteboard.

In some embodiments, the first virtual content may be associated with atleast one private virtual object and at least one public virtual object,and causing the virtual content to be transmitted for display by thesecond wearable extended reality appliance may include transmitting theat least one public virtual object and avoiding transmission of the atleast one private virtual object. As described herein, a virtual objectmay refer to a virtual display screen, to virtual content items, tovirtual two-dimensional objects, to virtual three-dimensional objects,documents, media items, photos, videos, virtual characters,user-generated content, and/or components of the listed objects (e.g., avolume or brightness adjustment bar). Furthermore, a public virtualobject may include virtual object that may be shared for viewing byother wearable extended reality appliance users and that may not besubject to any restrictions on sharing with other users. By contrast, aprivate virtual object may include virtual content that a wearableextended reality appliance user does not wish and/or is not allowed toshare with any other user or with any other user that is not part of apredefined group. In some examples, a user may configure which virtualobjects are public and which virtual objects are private, or mayconfigure different privacy levels to different virtual objects. Inother example, it may be determined automatically whether a virtualobject is private or public, for example based on an analysis of visualand/or non-visual characteristics of the virtual object.

In the above embodiments, a user may specify that some or all portionsof a virtual content may not be shared with another user. For example,if when the virtual content is visualized as a screen, the screen mayhave both a public and a private window. The public and private windoweach may contain virtual object. Thus, in some disclosed embodiments,virtual content may be displayed with only the public virtual objectbeing visible to the second wearable extended reality appliance user,with the private virtual content remaining hidden. Virtual content,meant to be shared between wearable extended reality appliance users,may consist of various virtual objects, some private and some public.

By way of example, virtual content may include a table or graphillustrating financial information associated with a user and the usermay not wish to share the financial information with other users. Theuser may designate the financial information in the virtual content as aprivate virtual object thus preventing other users from being able tosee that virtual content. In another example, virtual content mayinclude a document with confidential exhibits. The user may designatethe exhibits as a private virtual object, thus preventing other usersfrom being able to see that virtual object.

In some embodiments, virtual content items may be shared between samelevels of privacy without need for user's approval. Levels of privacymay refer to which virtual content items may be or is shared with whichspecific wearable extended reality appliance users. Levels of privacymay be established by dividing the virtual content itself of other usersone or more groups with each group being allowed to visualize some orall of the virtual content. The number of levels of privacy may beconfigured based on the user's preferences. For example, some of thevirtual content may be designated as content that may be shared with allother users. This may qualify as a low level of privacy. In anotherexample, a portion of the virtual content may be designated as contentthat may be shared with users who may be related to a user sharing thevirtual content. The relationship may be based on family relationshipsor professional relationships. For example, a user may designate aportion of or all of a virtual content as content that may be sharedonly with immediate family members (e.g., spouse, children, or parents)or with users in a particular professional group (e.g., an office teamor department). This may qualify as a medium level of privacy. Asanother example, a user may designate some or all of a virtual contentas content that may be viewed only by the user and by no one else. Thismay quality as a high level of privacy. Although only three levels ofprivacy (e.g., low, medium, high) have been discussed in thisspecification, the present disclosure is not so limiting, and it iscontemplated that any number of levels of privacy may be establishedconsistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, virtual content items may require user's approvalbefore being shared at a lower level of privacy than the current levelof privacy of the visual content item. In some examples, the decision ofwhether a virtual display screen needs to be shared may be based on thevirtual size of the virtual display screen, the orientation of thevirtual display screen, the location of the virtual display screen, andfactors related to the virtual screen configuration.

In some embodiments, different sharing levels may be applied. Somenon-limiting examples of such sharing levels may include private(available only to the user), Shared (available to people the userchooses to share with), public (available to anyone in a particularphysical space), or any other combination of public, private, or shared.In one example, a particular physical space may have owners, and only anowner of the particular physical space may share public content in thatparticular physical space content. For example, a company may sharepublic content within their office, or users may share public contentwithin their house.

In some examples, private content items, including, but not limited to,virtual display screens and widgets, may be shared with other users in away that do not enable identification of some type of items. Forexample, items such as text, images, fine details, or any other mediathat a user may not want to share may not be identified or visible tothe other users. By way of example, some or all of the virtual contentmay appear blurred to some users but may be clearly visible to otherusers based on how the first wearable extended reality appliance userconfigures their appliance or level of privacy. Other methods ofobscuring the virtual content may be employed. In one example, when afirst user comes close to a second user, the first user may see privatecontent of the second user as if being viewed through a milky glass, butwithout seeing content details. Thus, the second user's contents may beprotected from a first user who may not have authority to view privatedocuments.

In some embodiments, it may be communicated to the user that aparticular content is going to be shared with others, and the user maybe provided time to cancel sharing before the particular content isshared. Additionally, a user may obtain information related to theuser's objects being shared with other users, information related toobjects of others that are shared with the user, information related tothese other users, and/or information related to a level of sharing ofdifferent users.

In some embodiments, a user may select a virtual content item, such as avirtual display screen, a document, or other media, to be shared andsend it to a physical screen, using a gesture. Such physical screens mayinclude, for example, but are not limited to, TV, tablet, laptop,smartphone, smartboard, board, physical screen designated for contentsharing, or any other physical screen. Gestures used by a user to sharevirtual content may include, for example, a drag, a pinch, a swipe, orany other hand movement. As a result, the virtual content item may beshared, may be presented over the physical screen, or manipulated in anyother way as desired by the user. In some examples, the physical screenmay serve and/or induce a virtual sharing space, for example with screenborders as area of sharing, and the virtual content item may bepresented as a virtual layer and viewed by extended reality appliances.

By way of example, FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate sharing public virtualcontent 1110. This content may be shared to a physical screen 1114,here, a TV, as shown in FIG. 11B, for example by using a gesture 1112,as shown in FIG. 11A. Such a gesture may be a hand wave, finger point,or any bodily movement. In this embodiment, the virtual content sharedto a physical screen may be a public virtual content-everyone may seethe content, including those who are not wearing extended realityappliances.

In some examples, a user may move her/his own virtual content item, suchas a virtual display screen or document, to any of her/his personalphysical screens. Such personal screens may include personal physicaldisplay screen, a smartphone screen, or tablet screen. The user may movehis/her own content item by using a gesture. In response, the virtualcontent item may move to the physical display screen (i.e., may bepresented using the physical display screen) or may be presentedvirtually over the physical display screen, for example withoutadditional approvals, and with the virtual content item staying in samelevel of privacy.

When sharing some content, however, additional approval may be required.For example, a user may desire to share private virtual content that hasa higher level of privacy, i.e., is confidential, with another user.Such virtual content may be password protected, be accessible to onlycertain users, or otherwise be made private. In this scenario, thesharing user may be prompted to enter a password, contact a systemadministrator, or otherwise request permission to share the virtualcontent.

By way of example, FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate sharing private virtualcontent 1210. Here, an extended reality appliance user may share theirown virtual content 1210 with their own physical screen 1212 by using agesture 1214, as shown in FIG. 12B. This content stays in the same levelof privacy, i.e., no additional approvals are needed to share theprivate virtual content. In some examples, a user may initiate sharingof a virtual content with a physical screen. An identification of one ormore users exposed to the physical screen may be made (for example,based on location information associated with the users, and/or based onan analysis of an image of a room that includes the physical screen).Based on the identified one or more users, it may be determined whetherthe virtual content may be shared with the physical screen withoutadditional approval, whether the virtual content may be shared with thephysical screen upon additional approval, and/or whether the virtualcontent may not be shared with the physical screen. In one example,after the virtual content is shared with the physical screen, a(potential or actual) exposer of the physical screen to an additionaluser may be identified (for example, based on location informationassociated with the additional user, and/or based on an analysis of animage of a room that includes the physical screen), and in response tothe identified exposer of the physical screen to the additional user,the sharing of the virtual content with the physical screen may bestopped, or a prompt may be provided to the user sharing the virtualcontent. Such prompt may include an indicator of the exposer and/or ofthe additional user, and/or may be configured to enable the user sharingthe virtual content to continue or stop the sharing of the virtualcontent.

In some embodiments, the privacy settings described above may beconfigured as part of a user's default settings. In some embodiments,causing the first virtual content to be displayed by the second wearableextended reality appliance may include modifying the first virtualcontent according to default settings associated with the secondwearable extended reality appliance. The default settings may beconfigured according to the second wearable extended reality applianceuser's preference and/or hardware available in the second wearableextended reality appliance and/or environmental conditions associatedwith the second wearable extended reality appliance. For example, thesecond wearable extended reality appliance may operate in lower orhigher resolution than the first wearable extended reality appliance,and the rendering resolution of the first virtual content may bemodified accordingly. In another example, the second wearable extendedreality appliance may operate at different ambient light conditions thanthe first wearable extended reality appliance, and intensity and/oropacity of the rendering of the first virtual content may be modified tocompensate for the different ambient light conditions. In yet anotherexample, the second wearable extended reality appliance may enable adifferent angular field-of-view than the first wearable extended realityappliance, and a size of the first virtual content may be modified toadjust to the different angular field-of-view. In some examples, defaultsettings may refer to how a wearable extended reality appliance isconfigured for use or how the wearable extended reality appliance isused. In some embodiments, default settings may be configured to hidepersonal information such as passwords or credit card numbers, or thedefault settings may involve a user's preferred display parameters,i.e., where content is displayed or how large the content appears.Default settings may be customizable by a user of the wearable extendedreality appliance and may include, for example, privacy settings,proximity settings, gesture settings, or any other settings that maydetermine how the wearable extended reality appliance presents and/orshares virtual content.

In the above embodiments, privacy settings may determine an initiallevel of privacy associated with any virtual content that may be sharedwith another user. For example, a default privacy setting may allowvirtual content to be shared with all users. As another example, adefault privacy setting may prohibit virtual content from being sharedwith any other user. As another example, a default privacy setting mayallow virtual content to be shared with a predefined group of users(e.g., immediate family members of a user, or colleagues in a particularteam or department associated with the user).

In the above embodiments, sharing settings may determine how far oneuser needs to be from another before a sharing bubble is created, howlarge a predefined sharing ring is and where it is presented, or adefault physical object via which virtual content is to be presented. Inthe above embodiments, gesture settings may determine what default usermovement manifests a sharing intent. For example, a wearable extendedreality appliance user may configure the gesture settings toautomatically share content when the user waves their hand, but notshare content when the user nods their head. Such privacy sharing andgesture settings may be adjusted at any time depending on the preferenceof the user and what the desired use of the wearable extended realityappliance is.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve receiving from the secondwearable extended reality appliance second virtual content for displayvia the first wearable extended reality appliance. Receiving may involveany form of transmission of content. For example, the content may bereceived through a network-based communication of content, or through adirect communication of content, such as through a Bluetooth, Wi-Fi,NFC, or other direct communication protocol between multiple extendedreality appliances or modems associated therewith. In some embodiments,a processor may instruct the first wearable extended reality applianceto receive virtual content from the second wearable extended realityappliance, and to display that virtual content. In some other examples,a processor may receive the virtual content from the second wearableextended reality appliance, and may provide the virtual content to thefirst wearable extended reality appliance, for example for display ofthe virtual content. There are many ways in which the first wearableextended reality appliance may receive virtual content from the secondwearable extended reality appliance as discussed elsewhere in thisspecification. For example, the second wearable extended realityappliance may share virtual content with the first wearable extendedreality appliance via a sharing bubble or a sharing ring. As anotherexample, the second wearable extended reality appliance may sharevirtual content with the first wearable extended reality appliance assoon as a link between the two appliances is established.

Some disclosed embodiments may include displaying multiple versions ofvirtual content. In some embodiments, the first virtual content mayinclude a two-dimensional virtual object, and the second virtual contentmay include an alternate version of the two-dimensional object. Analternate version of a two-dimensional object may include, for example,a scaled down version of the two-dimensional object, a magnified versionof the two-dimensional object, a two-dimensional object having adifferent location or orientation, a two-dimensional object having adifferent color, texture, or shading, or a two-dimensional object withsome or all of its characteristics or functions having been altered insome manner. An alternate version of a two-dimensional object may begenerated based on a viewing user's preference.

For example, a two-dimensional object may be a virtual document and thealternate version of the two-dimensional virtual object may be anannotated or highlighted version of the virtual document. As anotherexample, a two-dimensional object may be a presentation, and analternate version of the two-dimensional object may have modifiedcolors, graphics, and/or shapes in the presentation. By way of anotherexample, multiple versions of virtual content may be comprised of bothpublic and private virtual objects. For example, a first user of a firstwearable extended reality appliance may send a document to a seconduser, who may share the document with a larger group. However, some ofthe comments and annotations on the virtual object may remain hiddenbased on the first or second user's privacy and/or document sharingsettings.

In some embodiments, the first virtual content may include athree-dimensional virtual object, and the second virtual content mayinclude a two-dimensional virtual object associated with thethree-dimensional object. When one wearable extended reality applianceuser shares content with another user, such content may include multiplevirtual objects. As described in the above embodiments, these virtualobjects may include both two-dimensional objects and three-dimensionalobjects and may be subject to various privacy settings. Athree-dimensional virtual object may be a design model or projectmock-up and the two-dimensional virtual object associated with thethree-dimensional object may be a list of comments on the model. As withthe two-dimensional models, subsequent versions of a three-dimensionalvirtual object may be configured to have different privacy settings.

For example, a project mock-up, such as a bridge, building, or otherscale or architectural model, may be shared as a three-dimensionalvirtual object with another user. Associated with the project-mock upmay be a list of comments, i.e., a two-dimensional virtual object,regarding the size, length, width, a myriad of any other parametersrelevant to the project mock-up. In addition to the two-dimensionalobjects associated with the three-dimensional objects, a user mayinclude three-dimensional virtual objects in the modified version aswell. In the project mock-up example for instance, a wearable extendedreality appliance user may share a first version of the mock-up and mayalso share a modified version of the model that may have morecomponents, may be a different size, or have different texture than thefirst one.

In response to receiving the virtual content from the second wearableextended reality appliance, some disclosed embodiments may includepresenting via the first extended reality appliance the second virtualcontent received from the second wearable extended reality appliance.There are many ways in which virtual content may be shared betweenwearable extended reality appliance users. Content may be shared via asharing bubble or a sharing ring. A second wearable extended realityappliance user may share content, via a sharing bubble or sharing ring,with a first wearable extended reality appliance user. In the aboveembodiments, the first wearable extended reality appliance user maypresent content received from the second user. This content may bepresented in a myriad of ways, for example, through the second user'sextended reality appliance, via a screen such as a tablet or TV, or viaa physical object such as a whiteboard or chalkboard. In one embodiment,the first user, after receiving virtual content from the second user,may present the content via the first appliance, or via a TV orwhiteboard. The first wearable extended reality appliance user may alsopresent content received from a second user to other users who arenearby the first user.

By way of example. FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate a sharing bubble,wherein the first wearable extended reality appliance 1310 receivessecond virtual content 1314 from the second wearable extended realityappliance 1312 via sharing region 1316. Such virtual content may also beshared via a sharing ring. FIG. 13B illustrates an example of presentingreceived content 1314. Here, first wearable extended reality appliance1310 may present second virtual content 1314 received from the secondwearable extended reality appliance 1312. The virtual content may bepresented via the wearable extended reality appliance, a screen such asa tablet or TV, or any other physical object.

In another example, FIG. 14 shows a flowchart illustrating an exemplarymethod 1410 of coordinating between the first and second wearableextended reality appliances to display various virtual content. Method1410 may contain step 1412, wherein the at least one processor mayestablish a link between the first and second wearable extended realityappliances, for example for communication between the two appliances orfor control of the two appliances. Method 1410 may also contain step1414, wherein first virtual content may be presented on the firstwearable extended reality appliance before, after, or simultaneouslywith establishing a link with a second wearable extended realityappliance. Method 1410 may also contain step 1416, involving obtaining acommand to display the first virtual content via the second wearableextended reality appliance. Method 1410 may also contain step 1418,wherein the first virtual content in some embodiments may be caused tobe transmitted for display to the second wearable extended realityappliance. Method 1410 may also contain step 1420, wherein a secondvirtual content may be received from the second wearable extendedreality appliance. Method 1410 may contain step 1422, wherein the firstwearable extended reality appliance may display the second virtualcontent.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve operations for providingsituational awareness to users of wearable extended reality appliances.Situational awareness may include one or more of a perception ofelements in an environment, a comprehension of a current situation, aprojection of future status, or any ability to identify, process, orunderstand elements of information regarding what is occurring in anenvironment. For example, situational awareness may include anunderstanding of one or more of a location, area, point, geography,region, scene, setting, site, surroundings, topography, section, angle,inclination, dimension, amount, breadth, capacity, content, diameter,height, intensity, length, magnitude, proportion, range, volume, width,amplitude, age, date, presence, time, moment, occasion, or any othercondition associated with any portion of an environment. In someexamples, situational awareness may include an understanding of a stateof another person in an environment of a user. For example, thesituational awareness may include an understanding of whether the otherperson is engaged with virtual content (such as virtual displays,virtual avatars, etc.) or not.

Some embodiments may cause virtual content to be displayed through afirst wearable extended reality appliance. The term virtual content mayinclude any type of data representation that may be displayed to theuser, such as through an extended reality appliance or otherpresentation device. The virtual content may include a virtual object,inanimate virtual content, animate virtual content configured to changeover time or in response to triggers, virtual two-dimensional content,virtual three-dimensional content, a virtual overlay over a portion of aphysical environment or over a physical object, a virtual addition to aphysical environment or to a physical object, a virtual promotioncontent, a virtual representation of a physical object, a virtualrepresentation of a physical environment, a virtual document, a virtualcharacter or persona, a virtual computer screen, a virtual widget, orany other format for displaying information virtually. Consistent withthe present disclosure, the virtual content may include any visualpresentation rendered by a computer or a processing device. In oneembodiment, the virtual content may include a virtual object that is avisual presentation rendered by a computer in a confined region andconfigured to represent an object of a particular type (such as aninanimate virtual object, an animate virtual object, virtual furniture,a virtual decorative object, virtual widget, or other virtualrepresentation). The rendered visual presentation may change to reflectchanges to a status object or changes in the viewing angle of theobject, for example, in a way that mimics changes in the appearance ofphysical objects.

Some embodiments may involve detecting a second wearable extendedreality appliance in proximity to the first wearable extended realityappliance. Proximity may refer to a closeness, adjacency, concurrence,contiguity, propinquity, close vicinity, or any other state or conditionof being near. Proximity may be measured by any of a capacitive effect,inductive effect, magnetic effect, or optical effect. Proximity may alsobe detected using one or more of, for example, radar, sonar, ultrasonic,fiber optic, or Hall Effect technology, reflection of ionizingradiation, or any other technology that can detect the presence ofnearby objects. Proximity may include distance, direction, or acombination of distance and direction. In other examples, locations ofthe first and second wearable extended reality appliance may be based onpositioning data corresponding to the two. In one example, the locationsmay be determined using indoor or outdoor positioning sensors includedin each one of the two wearable extended reality appliances, fromlocalization of the two wearable extended reality appliances in an image(for example, an image captured using an image sensor in the environmentof the two wearable extended reality appliances and analyzed using anobject detection algorithm to localize the wearable extended realityappliances), and so forth. In other examples, an image captured using animage sensor included in the first wearable extended reality appliancemay be analyzed using an object detection algorithm to detect the secondwearable extended reality appliance, and a distance between the twowearable extended reality appliances may be determined, for examplebased on a size of the second wearable extended reality appliance in thecaptured image, thereby determining whether the second wearable extendedreality appliance is in proximity to the first wearable extended realityappliance. In other examples, an image captured using an image sensorincluded in the second wearable extended reality appliance may beanalyzed using an object detection algorithm to detect the firstwearable extended reality appliance, and the second wearable extendedreality appliance may be considered in proximity to the first wearableextended reality appliance when the first wearable extended realityappliance is detected in the captured image (and therefore is in a lineof sight of the second wearable extended reality appliance).

In some embodiments, detecting a second wearable extended realityappliance in proximity to the first wearable extended reality appliancemay be continuous. In some embodiments, detecting a second wearableextended reality appliance in proximity to the first wearable extendedreality appliance may occur at regular or irregular time intervals. Insome embodiments, detecting a second wearable extended reality appliancein proximity to the first wearable extended reality appliance may betriggered by an input. The input may be received from a user, a system,or any other source of information that may trigger a detection ofproximity.

In certain embodiments, detecting a second wearable extended realityappliance in proximity to the first wearable extended reality appliancemay include detecting that the second wearable extended realityappliance is within a certain distance, width, height, radius, or othermeasure of separation from the first wearable extended realityappliance. For example, detecting a second wearable extended realityappliance in proximity to the first wearable extended reality appliancemay include detecting that the second wearable extended realityappliance is within one foot, two feet, five feet of, or any distancefrom the first extended reality appliance. The measure of separationused to detect the proximity may be inputted by a user, a system, or maybe determined from any other source of information. For example, a usermay input a value of five feet to trigger a detection of proximity. Inanother embodiment, a system may include default settings to trigger adetection of proximity when a distance of five feet is detected betweenthe first wearable extended reality appliance and the second wearableextended reality appliance. In one example, the measure of separationused to detect the proximity may be different for different directions(for example, one measure of separation for horizontal distances, and asmaller measure of separation for vertical distances, or in anotherexample, one measure of separation for an upward distance, and a smallermeasure of separation for a downward distance). In some examples, thesecond wearable extended reality appliance may be considered inproximity to the first wearable extended reality appliance when the twowearable extended reality appliance are in a same defined space (such asa same room, a same apartment, a same office, a same building, and soforth). In some examples, the second wearable extended reality appliancemay be considered in proximity to the first wearable extended realityappliance when the first wearable extended reality appliance is in aline of sight of the second wearable extended reality appliance.

In some embodiments, a detection of proximity may be based on anyreference point of each of the first wearable extended reality applianceand the second wearable extended reality appliance. For example,proximity may be detected based on a distance from any physical positionof a wearable extended reality appliance. Alternatively, proximity maybe detected based on a distance from a virtual position of a virtualobject presented through a wearable extended reality appliance. Inanother example, proximity may be detected based on a distance from areference point within a certain range of a wearable extended realityappliance.

Some embodiments may involve establishing a link between the firstwearable extended reality appliance and the second wearable extendedreality appliance. A link may include one or more of a physical ornon-physical attachment, or any other mode of connection. In someembodiments, a link may be established using physical attachmentincluding, for example, a wire, cable, or any other type of attachmentmeans that requires a tangible connection between the first wearableextended reality appliance and the second wearable extended realityappliance. In some embodiments, a link may be established usingnon-physical means, and may include wireless communication such asBluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi, or any other technology that implements thetransfer of information between two or more points without the use of anelectric conductor as a medium by which to perform the transfer.

Furthermore, the link may be a direct or indirect link between the firstwearable extended reality appliance and the second extended realityappliance. A direct link between the first wearable extended realityappliance and the second wearable extended reality appliance may be anunobstructed connection between the first wearable extended realityappliance and the second wearable extended reality appliance.Alternatively, an indirect link between the first wearable extendedreality appliance and the second wearable extended reality appliance maybe an obstructed connection between the first wearable extended realityappliance and the second wearable extended reality appliance. This typeof link may include a connection that connects systems that areconnected to one or both of the first wearable extended realityappliance and the second wearable extended reality appliance. Suchsystems may include, for example, a laptop, smartphone, or any othertype of non-wearable device that may be connected to a wearable extendedreality appliance. In one example, the link between the first wearableextended reality appliance and the second wearable extended realityappliance may include a direct and/or in-direct communication linkbetween the two extended reality appliances. In another example, asystem (such as a centralized system) may be in communication with eachone of the first and the second wearable extended reality appliances,for example to provide each one of the two wearable extended realityappliances content for presentation, to receive location and/ororientation information associated with the wearable extended realityappliances, and so forth. The link between the first wearable extendedreality appliance and the second wearable extended reality appliance mayinclude a linkage in a data-structure or a database of the system ormaintained by the system. In some examples, establishing a link betweenthe first wearable extended reality appliance and the second wearableextended reality appliance may refer to linkage in a data-structureand/or a database, for example in system coordinating an extendedreality environment, in a system that communicates with both the firstand the second wearable extended reality appliances, in a system thatprovides content for presentation for both the first and the secondwearable extended reality appliance, and so forth.

Some embodiments may involve transmitting data representing at least aportion of the virtual content in an obscured form to the secondwearable extended reality appliance, wherein the obscured form providesan indication of a position of the at least a portion of the virtualcontent in a three-dimensional space without revealing substance of thevirtual content in obscured form. In one example, the data may betransmitted from the first wearable extended reality appliance to thesecond, for example through a direct or an indirect communication link.In this example, the first wearable extended reality appliance mayprocess at least part of the virtual content to generate the obscuredform, for example as described below. In another example, the data maybe transmitted from a computerized system (for example, a systemcoordinating an extended reality environment, a system that communicateswith both the first and the second wearable extended reality appliances,a system that provides content for presentation for both the first andthe second wearable extended reality appliance, and so forth) to thesecond wearable extended reality appliance. In this example, thecomputerized system may process at least part of the virtual content togenerate the obscured form, for example as described below. An obscuredform may include a presentation of any portion of the virtual content ina manner that obfuscates that portion of the virtual content. In certainembodiments, an obscured form that provides an indication of a positionof the at least a portion of the virtual content in a three-dimensionalspace without revealing substance of the virtual content may include apresentation of the at least a portion of the virtual content throughmasking, redaction, omission, pixilation, blurring, or any other meansthat at least partially conceals any portion of the virtual content. Insome examples, an obscured form may provide a visual indication of aposition of the at least a portion of the virtual content in athree-dimensional space and/or a visual indication of a type of the atleast a portion of the virtual content without revealing at least onedetail of the at least a portion of the virtual content. For example,the obscured form may provide a visual indication that the at least aportion of the virtual content includes a textual content, withoutrevealing the exact words and/or the exact letters of the textualcontent. In another example, the obscured form may provide a visualindication that the at least a portion of the virtual content includes agraphical content, without revealing the exact images and/or the exactgraphics of the graphical content.

The functioning of the at least one processor as prescribed by theinstructions is exemplified in FIGS. 15 and 16. For example, FIG. 15 isan illustration of an exemplary environment including a plurality ofusers, using a plurality of wearable extended reality appliances,consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Asillustrated in FIG. 15, a first user 1514 of a first wearable extendedreality appliance 1515 may be located at a first position 1510. Seconduser 1516 of a second wearable extended reality appliance 1517 may belocated at a second position 1512 that is not in proximity of firstposition 1510 of first user 1514 (for example, in a distance longer thana selected threshold, not in the same defined space, not in the sameroom, not in the line of sight, and so forth). The first user 1514 maybe presented with first content 1522 in a first virtual display 1518,while the second user 1516 may be presented with second content 1524 ina second virtual display 1520. Since the first wearable extended realityappliance 1515 is not in proximity to the second wearable extendedreality appliance 1517, none of the first virtual content 1522 may betransmitted to the second user 1516.

FIG. 16 is an illustration of exemplary virtual displays including aportion of the virtual displays provided in an obscured form, consistentwith some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG.16, a first user 1614 of a first wearable extended reality appliance1615 may be located at a first position 1610. Second user 1616 of asecond wearable extended reality appliance 1617 may be located at asecond position 1612 that is in proximity of a first position 1610 offirst user 1614 (for example, in a distance shorter than a selectedthreshold, in a same defined space, in a same room, in a line of sightof wearable extended reality appliance 1615, and so forth). In thisexample, the first user 1614 may be presented with first content 1622 ina first virtual display 1618, while the second user 1616 may bepresented with second content 1624 in a second virtual display 1620.Here, because the second wearable extended reality appliance 1617 is inproximity to the first wearable extended reality appliance 1615, aportion 1626 of the first virtual content 1622 may be transmitted to thesecond wearable extended reality appliance 1617. Moreover, the portion1626 of the first virtual content 1622 may be shown in an obscured formto the second wearable extended reality appliance 1617 by being blurred,so that the blurred image provides an indication of a position ofportion 1626 of the first virtual content 1622 in a three-dimensionalspace without revealing a substance of the virtual content 1622.

In some embodiments, the virtual content displayed through the firstwearable extended reality appliance may include content of differingtypes, and the operations further include presenting via the secondwearable extended reality appliance, a type associated with the obscuredinformation, without revealing substance of the content. Content ofdiffering types may include content that varies with regard to format,presentation, shape, size, color, or any other aspect. In someembodiments, differing types of content may include, for example, wordprocessing content, gaming content, spreadsheet content, databasecontent, graphics content, or web browser content. As one example of apresentation consistent with such embodiments, the virtual contentdisplayed through the first wearable extended reality appliance mayinclude content of a web browser type. Accordingly, when datarepresenting at least a portion of the virtual content is transmitted inan obscured form to the second wearable extended reality device, a webbrowser type that is associated with the obscured form is presented viathe second display.

In some embodiments, the virtual content displayed through the firstwearable extended reality appliance may include a plurality of virtualscreens, and the virtual content presented in obscured form via thesecond wearable extended reality appliance may further provide anindication of sizes and orientations of the plurality of virtual screenswithout revealing substance of content associated with the plurality ofvirtual screens. A virtual screen (also referred to as virtual displayherein) may include any bounded shape or presentation area includingvirtual content, such as a rectangular window containing a plurality ofvirtual objects. A plurality of virtual screens may include two or morebounded shapes or presentation areas, with each including virtualcontent. The plurality of virtual screens may have different sizes,orientations, display settings, and other visual features. One or moreof these visual features may be obfuscated when the plurality of virtualscreens is presented to the second wearable extended reality appliance.For example, the virtual content displayed through the first wearableextended reality appliance may include one virtual screen that is squarein shape and another virtual screen that is rectangular in shape. Insuch an embodiment, when the obscured form is presented via the secondwearable extended reality appliance, the square shape and therectangular shape of the corresponding virtual screens may be displayedto the user of the second wearable extended reality appliance, but thecontent of the square and rectangular shapes may be obscured. FIG. 17 isan example illustration of a virtual display provided in an obscuredform, consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 17, the virtual content displayedthrough the first wearable extended reality appliance 1710 may includeone virtual screen 1712 comprising two smaller windows 1714 and 1716 andanother virtual screen 1718 comprising one large window 1720. When thevirtual content is displayed through the second wearable extendedreality appliance 1722, only the size of the two smaller windows 1714and 1716 in the first virtual screen 1712 and the larger window 1720 inthe second virtual screen 1718 may be displayed to the user of thesecond wearable extended reality appliance. In this exemplaryembodiment, the indication of the size without revealing substance ofcontent associated with the plurality of virtual screens may be achievedthrough blurring, but blacking out, pixilation, or any other method ofconcealing the content is contemplated for use with other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the virtual content displayed through the firstwearable extended reality appliance may include a user interfacepresenting a conversation with one or more participants, and theobscured form may further include a representation of the conversationwithout revealing identities of the one or more participants. The userinterface may include a graphical or textual display of communicationexchanged by two or more users. The display may be generated by one ormore applications that allow users to exchange textual or graphiccommunications. Such applications may include iMessage, Google Chat,SMS, Facebook Chat, Messenger, Slack, Teams, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal,Zoom, or any other application used for composing and sending electronicmessages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters,between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops, laptops, oranother type of compatible computer. The user interface may be presentedto another user if a second wearable extended reality appliance is inproximity to a first wearable extended reality appliance. For example,the user interface may include a chatting window comprising a pluralityof participants. In such an embodiment, the obscured form may present anindication of a chatting window, such as through chatting bubbles, butconceal the names of the participants. Other indications of aparticipant's identity may also be concealed, such as a photograph,picture, avatar, association, organization, location, position, role inan organization, or any other information that may be tied to anindividual's identity. An individual's identity may include their name,phone number, email, user ID, address, location, face, picture, video,or any other identifying information.

In some embodiments, the virtual content displayed through the firstwearable extended reality appliance may include a virtualthree-dimensional object, and the obscured form may further provide anindication of a shape of the virtual three-dimensional object withoutrevealing other details of the three-dimensional object. A virtualthree-dimensional object may include a virtual three-dimensionalrepresentation of a physical person, or an animate or inanimate object.A shape of a three-dimensional object may include the architecture,body, configuration, contour, format, frame, outline, silhouette,dimensions, color, texture, identifying features such as projections andrecesses, or any other characteristic of the object that describes itsform. For example, the virtual content displayed through the firstwearable extended reality appliance may include a three-dimensionalrendering of a person. In such an embodiment, the obscured form mayprovide a silhouette of the person without revealing other details ofthe person, such as their face, what they are wearing, and any otherattributes of the person that extend beyond merely their shape.

In some embodiments, the operations may further include receiving arequest from the second wearable extended reality appliance to share thevirtual content, and upon receiving confirmation from the first wearableextended reality appliance, transmitting second data representing the atleast a portion of the virtual content in an unobscured form to thesecond wearable extended reality appliance. A request from the secondwearable extended reality appliance may be generated eitherautomatically or through user input. An automatic request from thesecond wearable extended reality appliance may include a request that istriggered to be sent based on a distance between the first wearableextended reality appliance and the second wearable extended realityappliance, a location of the first wearable extended reality applianceor the second wearable extended reality appliance, an identity of a userof the first wearable extended reality appliance or the second wearableextended reality appliance, a specified time, or any other parameterthat may be used to trigger a request from the second wearable extendedreality appliance. A request from the second wearable extended realityappliance may also be sent through a user input. A user input requestmay be generated when a user of the second wearable extended realityappliance interacts with the second wearable extended reality device orany other device connected to the second wearable extended realitydevice. In some examples, a user input request may be generated when auser of the second wearable extended reality appliance interacts withany portion of the virtual display of the second wearable extendedreality appliance. Such an interaction may be achieved through atrigger, a touch-screen interface, a mouse, or any other type ofinteractive element. In some embodiments, the automatic request from thesecond wearable extended reality appliance may be generated through acombination of an automatic input and a user-generated input. Forexample, a request from the second wearable extended reality applianceto share the virtual content may be generated when the first wearableextended reality appliance is within five feet of the second wearableextended reality appliance and a user of the second wearable extendedreality appliance presses a button to generate the request. Confirmationfrom the first wearable extended reality appliance may be generatedthrough an input from a user of the first wearable extended realityappliance. The user may generate the input through interaction with anobject connected to the first wearable extended reality appliance, suchas a trigger, a touch-screen interface, a mouse, or any other type ofinteractive element. In another example, the first wearable extendedreality appliance or a processing unit associated with the firstwearable extended reality appliance may access a data-structureincluding access permissions to determine whether a confirmation shouldbe provided, and may automatically provide the confirmation in responseto a determination that a confirmation should be provided.

In some embodiments, the operations may further include providing to thefirst wearable extended reality appliance an indication that the atleast a portion of the virtual content is displayed in an obscured formvia the second wearable extended reality appliance. This indication maybe presented to a user of the first wearable extended reality appliancethrough an output that is either audio, visual, or haptic in nature.Further, any combination of an audible, visual, or haptic output mayalso be used to present the indication to the first wearable extendedreality appliance. The indication presented to the user may include anindication of at least one of the second wearable extended realityappliance, a user of the second wearable extended reality appliance, theportion of the virtual content, the obscuring technique, the obscuredform, or a time period of the presentation of the obscured form. Anaudio indication that the at least a portion of the virtual content isdisplayed in an obscured form via the second extended reality appliancemay include a beep, tone, alarm, voice indication, or any other type ofsound. A visual indication that the at least a portion of the virtualcontent is displayed in an obscured form via the second extended realityappliance may include a picture, image, cartoon, description, sentence,drawing, figure, icon, photograph, or any other viewable output. Ahaptic indication that the at least a portion of the virtual content isdisplayed in an obscured form via the second extended reality appliancemay include a buzz, vibration, or any other sign to a user of the firstextended reality appliance that relates to the sense of touch. In otherexamples, the indication that the at least a portion of the virtualcontent is displayed in the obscured form via the second wearableextended reality may be provided to the first wearable extended realityappliance in a digital signal, for example in a digital signaltransmitted to the first wearable extended reality appliance. Thedigital signal may include an indication of at least one of the secondwearable extended reality appliance, a user of the second wearableextended reality appliance, the portion of the virtual content, theobscuring technique, the obscured form, or a time period of thepresentation of the obscured form.

Some embodiments, may involve determining an intent of a first user ofthe first wearable extended reality appliance to share the at least aportion of the virtual content with a second user of the second wearableextended reality appliance, and transmitting second data representingthe at least a portion of the virtual content in an unobscured form tothe second wearable extended reality appliance. An intent of a firstuser of the first wearable extended reality appliance to share the atleast a portion of the virtual content with a second user of the secondwearable extended reality appliance may be determined based on any inputby the first user. Such an input may include interaction with objectssuch as a trigger, a touch-screen interface, a mouse, or any other typeof interactive element. For example, when a first user of the firstwearable extended reality appliance presses a button on the firstwearable extended reality appliance, an intent of the first user of thefirst wearable extended reality appliance to share the at least aportion of the virtual content with a second user of the second wearableextended reality appliance is determined. In another example, such inputmay include a gesture of the first user. An unobscured form of the atleast a portion of the virtual content may include a presentation of theat least a portion in a manner that is not concealed. For example, anobscured form of the at least one portion may include an image with ablur filter applied such that the shape of the image is readilyidentifiable, while its substance is not. In such an embodiment, anunobscured form of the image may include an image with the blur filterremoved, such that the substance of the image also becomes identifiable.

In some embodiments, the intent to share the at least a portion of thevirtual content with the second user of the second wearable extendedreality appliance is determined from image data captured by the firstwearable extended reality appliance. Image data may include pixel data,time, date, location, identity of a subject, role of a subject, or anyother information that may be associated with a given image. Forexample, the first wearable extended reality appliance may capture imagedata indicative of a person A. The at least one processor may beconfigured to determine an intent to share the at least a portion of thevirtual content with the second user of the second wearable extendedreality appliance based on the information included in the image data.For example, the at least one processor may determine the intent toshare the at least a portion of the virtual content with the second userof the second wearable extended reality appliance when the image dataindicates person A, or based on a time, date, or location associatedwith the image. In other examples, the image data may be analyzed usinga gesture recognition algorithm to identify a gesture indicative of theintent of the first user to share the at least a portion of the virtualcontent with the second user.

In some embodiments, the intent to share the at least a portion of thevirtual content with the second user of the second wearable extendedreality appliance may be determined from not receiving an indicationfrom the user of the first wearable extended reality appliance to keepthe at least a portion of the virtual content in an obscured form. Insome embodiments, the at least one processor may not receive any inputfrom a user of the first wearable extended reality appliance regardingobscuring a portion of the virtual content. The at least one processormay be configured to determine the intent to share based on a lack ofinput from the user. In some embodiments, the at least one processor maynot receive any input from a user of the first wearable extended realityappliance regarding obscuring a portion of the virtual content within agiven period of time. The at least one processor may be configured todetermine the intent to share based on a lack of input from the userduring a given period of time. For example, the given period of time setby the first wearable extended reality system may be five minutes fromany triggering event. The at least one processor my determine the intentto share the at least a portion of the virtual content with the seconduser of the second wearable extended reality appliance when it does notreceive an indication from the user of the first wearable extendedreality appliance to keep the at least a portion of the virtual contentin an obscured form within five minutes. A triggering event may be oneor more of a user input or a determination made by the first wearableextended reality appliance.

In some embodiments, the virtual content displayed through the firstwearable extended reality appliance may include a first portionclassified as private and a second portion classified as public, and theoperations may further exclude the first portion from transmission tothe second wearable extended reality appliance and transmit the secondportion in an obscured form to the second wearable extended realityappliance. The classification of private or public content may be basedon user input or other criteria, such as the content itself. Forexample, content may be marked by a user as confidential or private, orcontent may be automatically designated as private if it includes anyidentifying information. Information classified as private may include aname, identity, email address, location, or any other informationintended for or restricted to the use of a particular person, group, orclass. Information classified as public may include a message, picture,news article, or any other information intended to be exposed to generalview. For example, the virtual content displayed through the firstwearable extended reality appliance may include a chat window consistingof a first portion comprising an identity of a participant, which may beclassified as private. A second portion of the chat window may include achat bubble, which may be classified as public. The at least oneprocessor may be configured to prohibit transmission of the firstportion comprising the identity of the participant to the secondwearable extended reality appliance. The processor may, however,transmit the second portion of the chat window comprising the chatbubble in an obscured form to the second wearable extended realityappliance. As another example, the virtual content displayed through thefirst wearable extended reality appliance may include a shoppingapplication window consisting of a first portion comprising the user'scredit card details, which may be classified as private. A secondportion of the shopping application window may include a list of itemsavailable for purchase, which may be classified as public. The at leastone processor may be configured to prohibit transmission of the firstportion comprising the user's credit card details to the second wearableextended reality appliance. The processor may, however, transmit thesecond portion comprising the list of items available for purchase in anobscured form to the second wearable extended reality appliance.

In some embodiments, the virtual content displayed through the firstwearable extended reality appliance may include a first portionclassified as private and a second portion classified as public, and theoperations may further include transmitting the first portion in anobscured form and transmitting the second portion in a non-obscuredform. As discussed above, some portions of a virtual content may bedesignated as being confidential or private while other portions may bedesignated as being public. Information classified as public may includea message, picture, news article, or any other information intended tobe exposed to general view. The portions classified as private may betransmitted in an obscured form, while the portions classified as publicmay be transmitted in an unobscured form. For example, the virtualcontent displayed through the first wearable extended reality appliancemay include a chat window consisting of a first portion comprising anidentity of a participant classified as private and a second portioncomprising a chat bubble classified as public. In such an embodiment,the first portion comprising the identity of the participant istransmitted to the second wearable extended reality appliance in anobscured form, while the second portion comprising the chat bubble istransmitted in a non-obscured form to the second wearable extendedreality appliance. In such an embodiment, the first portion comprisingthe identity of the participant may be presented as a blurred image,while the second portion comprising the chat bubble may be presentedwithout any blur. As another example, the virtual content displayedthrough the first wearable extended reality appliance may include ashopping application window consisting of a first portion comprising theuser's credit card details, which may be classified as private. A secondportion of the shopping application window may include a list of itemsavailable for purchase, which may be classified as public. In such anembodiment, the first portion comprising the user's credit card detailsis transmitted to the second wearable extended reality appliance in anobscured form, while the second portion comprising the list of itemsavailable for purchase is transmitted in a non-obscured form to thesecond wearable extended reality appliance. In such an embodiment, thefirst portion comprising the user's credit card details may be presentedas a blurred image, while the second portion comprising the list ofitems available for purchase may be presented without any blur.

In some embodiments, the operations may further include receivingindication via the first wearable extended reality appliance that thefirst portion is classified as private. An indication that the firstportion is classified as private may be received via the first wearableextended reality appliance through a user interaction with any portionof the first wearable extended reality appliance or with any deviceconnected to the first wearable extended reality appliance, such as atrigger, a touch-screen interface, a mouse, or any other type ofinteractive element. Thus, for example, a user may provide one or moreinputs indicating a portion of virtual content and identifying thatportion as being private, using the first wearable extended realityappliance or any device connected to the first wearable extended realityappliance. For example, a user may select portions of a document byhighlighting them with a cursor to mark those portions as private. Asanother example, a user may select portions of an image by highlightingthem with a cursor to mark those portions as private.

In some embodiments, the operations may further include automaticallydetermining that the first portion is classified as private. Anautomatic determination that the first portion is classified as privatemay be based on a determination by the first wearable extended realityappliance that is independent of any user input, or may be determined byanother computing device. In such embodiments, the automaticdetermination may be based on one or more characteristics of the virtualcontent, including, for example, an identity of the user, a role of theuser, a location of the first wearable extended reality appliance, apresent time or date, or any other information associated with a virtualcontent. In some embodiments, the at least one processor may employ oneor more rules that determines whether some or all portions of virtualcontent should be designated as private based on the one or morecharacteristics of the virtual content independent of an active userinput. In such embodiments, the rules may be stored in a database or maybe created by a user. Alternatively, or in addition, a machine learningmodel (such as a classification model, a visual classification model,etc.) may be trained using training examples to determine whethercontents are public or private. An example of such training example mayinclude a sample content, together with a label indicating whether thesample content is public or private. The trained machine learning modelmay be used to determine which portions are confidential and whichportions are public. In another example, the first wearable extendedreality appliance may be configured to determine the location of theappliance. In such an embodiment, the at least one processor may beconfigured to classily the first portion of a virtual content as privatewhenever the first wearable extended reality appliance is in a givenlocation or within a predetermined distance of the given location.

Some embodiments, the operations may further include identifying atleast a first individual with permission to view the first portion andat least a second individual without permission to view the firstportion, and the operations may additionally include enabling display ofthe first portion to the at least a first individual while preventingdisplay of the first portion to the at least a second individual. Afirst individual with permission to view the first portion may beidentified either based on user input or automatically. In someembodiments, a user of the first wearable extended reality appliance mayinteract with the first wearable extended reality appliance or anyconnected devices in order to identify that an individual has permissionto view the first portion. The user may interact with the first wearableextended reality appliance or any connected devices using a trigger, atouch-screen interface, a mouse, or any other type of interactiveelement in order to identify an individual as having permission to viewthe first portion. In some embodiments, the first wearable extendedreality appliance or a different computing device may automaticallyidentify that an individual has permission to view the first portion,based on one or more of the identity of the individual, the role of theindividual, the location of the first wearable extended realityappliance, the location of the second wearable extended realityappliance, the present time or date, or any other information that maybe used to classify a permission status of an individual independent ofan active user input. In some embodiments, the at least one processormay employ one or more rules to identify that an individual haspermission to view the first portion based on the information that maybe used to classify a permission status independent of an active userinput. In such embodiments, the rules may be stored in a database orcould be created by a user. Alternatively, or in addition, a machinelearning model (such as a classification model, a visual classificationmodel, etc.) could be trained using training examples to determinewhether particular individuals have permissions to view differentcontents. An example of such training example may include a samplecontent and data associated with a sample individual, together with alabel indicating whether or not the sample individual has permission toview the sample content. The trained machine learning model may be usedto determine which individuals have permission to view the firstportion. A second individual without permission to view the firstportion may similarly be identified either based on user input orautomatically. In some embodiments, a user of the first wearableextended reality appliance may interact with the first wearable extendedreality appliance or any connected devices in order to identify that anindividual does not have permission to view the first portion. The usermay interact with the first wearable extended reality appliance or anyconnected devices using a trigger, a touch-screen interface, a mouse, orany other type of interactive element in order to identify an individualas not having permission to view the first portion. In some embodiments,the first wearable extended reality appliance or a different computingdevice may automatically identify that an individual does not havepermission to view the first portion, based on one or more of theidentity of the individual, the role of the individual, the location ofthe first wearable extended reality appliance, the location of thesecond wearable extended reality appliance, the present time or date, orany other information that can be used to classify a permission statusof an individual independent of an active user input. Additionally,enabling display may include enabling a fully obscured display, a fullyunobscured display, a partially obscured display, or a partiallyunobscured display. For example, a first individual may be identified tohave permission to view the first portion of a document, while a secondindividual may be identified to not have permission to view the firstportion. Some disclosed embodiments may allow the first individual tosee the portion of the document clearly, while blacking out, blurring,or in some other way while preventing display of the portion of thedocument to the second individual.

Some embodiments may involve detecting that a third wearable extendedreality appliance is in proximity to the first wearable extended realityappliance; establishing an additional link between the first wearableextended reality appliance and the third wearable extended realityappliance; and transmitting data representing a specific portion of thevirtual content in an unobscured form to the third wearable extendedreality appliance, while the specific portion of the virtual content isdisplayed in an obscured form to the second wearable extended realityappliance. Detecting a proximity between the first wearable extendedreality appliance and the third wearable extended reality appliance maybe achieved via systems, devices, and methods similar to those discussedabove for detecting the proximity between the first wearable extendedreality appliance and the second wearable extended reality appliance.Establishing an additional link between the first wearable extendedreality appliance and the third wearable extended reality appliance maybe achieved via systems, devices, and methods similar to those discussedabove for establishing a link between the first wearable extendedreality appliance and the second extended reality appliance. Forexample, a link may be established between the first wearable extendedreality appliance and the third wearable extended reality appliancethrough Bluetooth, and a link may be established between the firstwearable extended reality appliance and the second wearable extendedreality appliance also through Bluetooth. In another example, the linkbetween the first wearable extended reality appliance and the secondwearable extended reality appliance may include a linkage in adata-structure or a database, for example in a system coordinating anextended reality environment, in a system that communicates with boththe first and the second wearable extended reality appliances, in asystem that provides content for presentation for both the first and thesecond wearable extended reality appliance, and so forth. By way ofanother example, a link may be established between the first wearableextended reality appliance and the third wearable extended realityappliance in a different way than a link established between the firstwearable extended reality appliance and the second wearable extendedreality appliance. For example, a link may be established between thefirst wearable extended reality appliance and the third wearableextended reality appliance through Bluetooth, while a link may beestablished between the first wearable extended reality appliance andthe second wearable extended reality appliance through Wi-Fi or in adata-structure.

In some embodiments, the operations may further include accessing seconduser permission data associated with a second user of the secondwearable extended reality appliance and third user permission dataassociated with the third wearable extended reality appliance; and basedon the second user permission data and the third user permission data,selectively sharing content with the second wearable extended realityappliance and with the third wearable extended reality appliance,wherein the content shared with the second wearable extended realityappliance differs from content shared with the third wearable extendedreality appliance. The second user permission data associated with thesecond user of the second wearable extended reality appliance may begenerated either through user input or automatically, similar to thesystems, devices, and methods discussed above. The user input may begenerated by either a user of the first wearable extended realityappliance, a user of the second wearable extended reality appliance, orany other user. In one embodiment, a user of the first wearable extendedreality appliance, a user of the second wearable extended realityappliance, or any other user may interact with the first wearableextended reality appliance, the second wearable extended realityappliance, or any connected devices in order to generate the second userpermission data associated with the second user of the second wearableextended reality appliance. Such a user may interact with the firstwearable extended reality appliance, the second wearable extendedreality appliance, or any connected devices using a trigger, atouch-screen interface, a mouse, or any other type of interactiveelement in order to generate the second user permission data associatedwith the second user of the second wearable extended reality appliance.In some embodiments, the first wearable extended reality appliance, thesecond wearable extended reality appliance, or any connected devices mayautomatically generate the second user permission data associated withthe second user of the second wearable extended reality appliance, basedon one or more of the identity of the second user, the role of thesecond user, the location of the first wearable extended realityappliance, the location of the second wearable extended realityappliance, the present time or date, or any other information that canbe used to establish rules for data privacy independent of an activeuser input.

Similarly, the third user permission data associated with the third userof the second wearable extended reality appliance may be generatedeither through user input or automatically. The user input may begenerated by either a user of the first wearable extended realityappliance, a user of the third wearable extended reality appliance, orany other user. In one embodiment, a user of the first wearable extendedreality appliance, a user of the third wearable extended realityappliance, or any other user may interact with the first wearableextended reality appliance, the third wearable extended realityappliance, or any connected devices in order to generate the third userpermission data associated with the third user of the third wearableextended reality appliance. Such a user may interact with the firstwearable extended reality appliance, the third wearable extended realityappliance, or any connected devices using a trigger, a touch-screeninterface, a mouse, or any other type of interactive element in order togenerate the third user permission data associated with the third userof the third wearable extended reality appliance. In another embodiment,the first wearable extended reality appliance, the third wearableextended reality appliance, or any connected devices may automaticallygenerate the third user permission data associated with the third userof the third wearable extended reality appliance, based on one or moreof the identity of the third user, the role of the third user, thelocation of the first wearable extended reality appliance, the locationof the third wearable extended reality appliance, the present time ordate, or any other information that can be used to establish rules fordata privacy independent of an active user input.

Furthermore, selectively sharing content may include sharing content inany way that differentiates the information being presented to thesecond user of the second wearable extended reality appliance from theinformation being presented to the third user of the third wearableextended reality appliance. For example, the content shared with thesecond user of the second wearable extended reality appliance maycomprise fully obscured content, while the content shared with the thirduser of the third wearable extended reality appliance may comprise onlypartially obscured content. In one example, the content shared with thesecond user of the second wearable extended reality appliance maycomprise a blacked-out image, while the content shared with the thirduser of the third wearable extended reality appliance may comprise onlya blurred-out image. In another example, the content shared with thesecond user of the second wearable extended reality appliance maycomprise a completely redacted document, while the content shared withthe third user of the third wearable extended reality appliance maycomprise only a partially redacted document.

In some embodiments, the second user permission data and the third userpermission data may be obtained during the establishment of the link andthe additional link respectively. In such embodiments, the second userpermission data and the third user permission data may be obtainedfollowing a request to a user for the permission data or automatically.

In some embodiments, the data representing at least a portion of thevirtual content in an obscured form may be generated by processing atleast part of the virtual content. For example, the first wearableextended reality appliance may process the at least part of the virtualcontent to generate the data representing the at least a portion of thevirtual content in the obscured form. In another example, a computerizedsystem (for example, a system coordinating an extended realityenvironment, a system that communicates with both the first and thesecond wearable extended reality appliances, a system that providescontent for presentation for both the first and the second wearableextended reality appliance, and so forth) may process the at least partof the virtual content to generate the data representing the at least aportion of the virtual content in the obscured form. In some examples,the processing of the at least part of the virtual content to generatethe data may include applying the at least part of the virtual contentto a transformation function, such as blurring, modification, visualfilter, and so forth. In one example, a machine learning model (such asa generative model, a generative adversarial network, a transformerbased generative model, etc.) may be trained using training examples togenerated obscure forms of virtual contents. An example of such trainingexample may include a sample virtual content and sample obscuringparameters, together with a desired obscured form of the sample virtualcontent corresponding to the sample obscuring parameters. Somenon-limiting examples of such obscuring parameters may include anobscuring level (such as ‘High’, ‘Low’, etc.), an obscuring method (suchas reduction, blurring, etc.), and so forth. The trained machinelearning model may analyze the at least part of the virtual content togenerate the data representing the at least a portion of the virtualcontent in the obscured form. In one example, a manual configuration maybe used to select obscuring parameters for the usage of the trainedmachine learning model. In some examples, the obscure form of the atleast a portion of the virtual content may be selected based oncharacteristics of the second wearable extended reality appliance (suchas hardware characteristics, display resolution, operating system, andso forth) and/or based on a condition of the second wearable extendedreality appliance (such as ambient illumination conditions in anenvironment of the second wearable extended reality appliance, usagemode of the second wearable extended reality appliance, and so forth).For example, the characteristics and/or condition of the second wearableextended reality appliance may be used to select obscuring parametersfor the usage of the trained machine learning model. In some examples,in response to first ambient illumination conditions in the environmentof the second wearable extended reality appliance, a first obscure formof the at least a portion of the virtual content may be selected, and inresponse to second illumination conditions in the environment of thesecond wearable extended reality appliance, a second obscure form of theat least a portion of the virtual content may be selected, the secondobscure form may differ from the first obscure form. In one example, thefirst ambient illumination conditions may correspond to brighterillumination than the second ambient illumination conditions, and thefirst obscure form may be more opaque and/or sharper than the secondobscure form. In some examples, in response to a first usage mode of thesecond wearable extended reality appliance, a first obscure form of theat least a portion of the virtual content may be selected, and inresponse to a second usage mode of the second wearable extended realityappliance, a second obscure form of the at least a portion of thevirtual content may be selected, the second obscure form may differ fromthe first obscure form. For example, the first usage mode may include anactive engagement of the user of the second wearable extended realityappliance with virtual objects, the second usage mode may include apassive viewing of virtual objects by the user of the second wearableextended reality appliance, and the first obscure form may be smallerthan the second obscure form. In another example, the first usage modemay include usage while being mobile (for example, walking, running,etc.), the second usage mode may include usage while being stationary(for example, sitting, standing, etc.), and the first obscure form maybe less opaque than the second obscure form.

In some embodiments, a method for providing situational awareness tousers of wearable extended reality appliances may be disclosed. FIG. 18is a flowchart of an exemplary method 1805 of providing situationalawareness to users of wearable extended reality appliances, consistentconnection with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 1805may include a step 1810 in which the at least one processor causesvirtual content to be displayed through a first wearable extendedreality appliance. Method 1805 may include a step 1812 in which the atleast one processor detects a second wearable extended reality appliancein proximity to the first wearable extended reality appliance. Method1805 may include a step 1814 in which the at least one processorestablishes a link between the first wearable extended reality applianceand the second wearable extended reality appliance. Method 1805 mayinclude a step 1816 in which the at least one processor transmits datarepresenting at least a portion of the virtual content in an obscuredform to the second wearable extended reality appliance, wherein theobscured form provides an indication of a position of the at least aportion of the virtual content in a three-dimensional space withoutrevealing substance of the virtual content in obscured form.

Some embodiments may involve providing situational awareness to users ofwearable extended reality appliances. For example, a system may includeat least one processor configured to: cause virtual content to bedisplayed through a first wearable extended reality appliance; detect asecond wearable extended reality appliance in proximity to the firstwearable extended reality appliance; establish a link between the firstwearable extended reality appliance and the second wearable extendedreality appliance; and transmit data representing at least a portion ofthe virtual content in an obscured form to the second wearable extendedreality appliance, wherein the obscured form provides an indication of aposition of the at least a portion of the virtual content in athree-dimensional space without revealing substance of the virtualcontent in obscured form.

Some disclosed embodiments may relate to tying a virtual whiteboard to aphysical space, including methods, systems, apparatuses, andnon-transitory computer-readable media. For example, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium is described below, with the understanding thataspects of the non-transitory computer-readable medium may apply equallyto methods, systems, and apparatuses. For example, one or more processesembodied in the non-transitory computer-readable medium may be performedas a method, in a system, or in an apparatus. Some aspects of suchprocesses may occur electronically over a network that may be wired,wireless, or both. Other aspects of such processes may occur usingnon-electronic means. In a broadest sense, the processes are not limitedto particular physical and/or electronic instrumentalities, but rathermay be accomplished using many differing instrumentalities. For example,some disclosed embodiments may include a system, method or apparatus fortying virtual whiteboards to physical spaces, the system comprising atleast one processor configured to perform various processes as describedherein.

The non-transitory computer-readable medium may contain instructionsthat when executed by at least one processor cause the at least oneprocessor to perform various processes as described herein. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium may include any type of physicalmemory on which information or data readable by at least one processormay be stored. A non-transitory computer-readable medium may include,for example, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM),volatile memory, non-volatile memory, hard drives, compact discread-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile discs (DVDs), flash drives,disks, any optical data storage medium, any physical medium withpatterns of holes, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), FLASH-EPROM or any other flashmemory, non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM), caches, registers,any other memory chip or cartridge, or networked versions of the same. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium may refer to multiplestructures, such as a plurality of non-transitory computer-readablemedia, located at a local location or at a remote location.Additionally, one or more non-transitory computer-readable media may beutilized in implementing a computer-implemented method. Accordingly, anon-transitory computer-readable medium may include tangible items andmay exclude carrier waves or transient signals.

The instructions contained in the non-transitory computer-readablemedium may include, for example, software instructions, computerprograms, computer code, executable instructions, source code, machineinstructions, machine language programs, or any other type of directionsfor a computing device. The instructions contained in the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium may be based on one or more of various types ofdesired programming languages, and may include (e.g., embody) variousprocesses for tying a virtual whiteboard to a physical space asdescribed herein.

At least one processor may execute the instructions contained in thenon-transitory computer-readable medium to cause various processes to beperformed for tying a virtual whiteboard to a physical space asdescribed herein. The processor may include, for example, integratedcircuits, microchips, microcontrollers, microprocessors, centralprocessing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), digitalsignal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), orother units suitable for executing instructions or performing logicoperations. The processor may include a single-core or multiple-coreprocessor. In some examples, the processor may be a single-coreprocessor configured with virtualization technologies. The processormay, for example, implement virtualization technologies or otherfunctionalities to provide the ability to execute, control, run,manipulate, or store multiple software processes, applications, orprograms. In another example, the processor may include a multiple-coreprocessor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, or with any desired number ofcores) configured to provide parallel processing functionalities toallow a device associated with the processor to execute multipleprocesses simultaneously. Other types of processor arrangements may beimplemented to provide the capabilities described herein.

Some disclosed embodiments may relate to tying a virtual whiteboard to aphysical space. A virtual whiteboard may refer to a virtual locationwhere content may be displayed. For example, a virtual surface may be anarea in a display space configured for the presentation of digitalcontent. The digital content may include images, widgets, text, links,markings, scribbles or any other preexisting information or informationgenerated on the fly, such as handwritten or typed text or images. Thevirtual content being displayed by an extended reality appliance to auser. Although referred to in a colloquial sense as a “white” board, thesurface need not be of any particular color. That is, the display areamay be white, black, blue, green, or yellow, or may have any otherdesired color. The surface may be displayed as glossy, smooth, orcoarse, or may have any other desired texture. Any shape may be employedas a whiteboard. For example, in some embodiments, the whiteboard mayhave a traditional rectangular shape of a chalkboard or a flip chart,and in other embodiments, the whiteboard may be presented in the shapeof a circle, square, triangle, hexagon, parallelogram, trapezoid,freeform shape, or any other desired contour. Similarly, use of the term“board” is not meant to imply that the display need be flat. In someembodiments, the virtual whiteboard may be present with varyingcontours. For example, a whiteboard may be presented as a rotatable cubeor other three-dimensional shape (or combinations of shapes.) In someembodiments, initial characteristics (e.g., shape, size, color) of awhiteboard may change over time. For example, as a user interacts withdiffering portions of the whiteboard, the whiteboard's characteristicsmay change (e.g., a full board may expand; interacting with certainregions of the board may cause changes in display characteristics). Awhiteboard surface is not limited to any particular size. It might be ofany size, depending on the particular use case (e.g., if rectangular,0.5 square meters, 0.75 square meters, 1 square meter, 2 square meters,or any other desired amount of area). In some examples, the surface ofthe virtual whiteboard may be bounded by an enclosure (e.g., frames)along the borders of the shape of the surface, the enclosure beingdisplayed as virtual content together with the displayed surface. Thevirtual whiteboard may be displayed as being affixed onto a physicalwall or a virtual wall being displayed as virtual content, may bedisplayed as being supported by an assembly standing on the floor, maybe displayed as being placed (e.g., floating) in a space without beingconnected to other objects (either physical or virtual) in the space, ormay be displayed in any other desired manner.

The virtual whiteboard may be configured for making markings. Forexample, virtual content may be added onto, or removed from, a surfaceof the virtual whiteboard. Such virtual content may include texts,drawings, colors, shapes, icons, logos, pictures, graphics, annotations,videos, animations, documents, files, links, programs, scripts, or anyother desired representation of data. Such virtual content may bedisplayed to be on the surface of the virtual whiteboard, and to befacing a direction same as or substantially similar to a direction thatthe virtual whiteboard may be facing. The virtual content on the virtualwhiteboard may be within the borders of the virtual whiteboard. Thevirtual content on the virtual whiteboard may be modified in any desiredmanner. Using the virtual whiteboard (e.g., adding, removing, ormodifying virtual content) may be carried out via user commands. Asfurther described herein, the virtual whiteboard may be used in variousmanners and to implement various functions.

In some examples, the virtual whiteboard may resemble a physicalwhiteboard. Just as physical whiteboards may be located in physicalspaces, virtual whiteboards may be tied to physical spaces. For example,a virtual whiteboard may be tied to a physical space such as aconference room, a classroom, a discussion room, a work room, an office,a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, a hall, a concourse, an indoorspace, a playground, an outdoor space, or any other desired environment.Tying the virtual whiteboard to a physical space may, for example,enable a user of an extended reality appliance in the physical space topost content on the virtual whiteboard, for later viewing by anotheruser even when the posting user is no longer physically located in thephysical space of the virtual whiteboard. In some examples, a virtualwhiteboard tied to a physical space may be configured to have aparticular orientation and a particular position relative to thesettings of the physical space. This may enable the virtual whiteboard,when displayed in the physical space, to have a consistent (e.g., fixed)orientation and position relative to the settings of the physical space.For example, a virtual whiteboard tied to a particular conference roomin a building may, when invoked, be displayed consistently as beingplaced on a particular part of a specific wall of the conference room.In some examples, a virtual whiteboard may be a surface that enablesdifferent users in a vicinity of the virtual whiteboard to add virtualcontent for presentation on the virtual whiteboard by interacting withthe virtual whiteboard, and/or erase visual content presented on thevirtual whiteboard (for example, by interacting with the virtualwhiteboard) and/or view visual content presented on the whiteboard. Somenon-limiting examples of such virtual content are described above. Somenon-limiting examples of such interactions are describes below. In someexamples, a virtual whiteboard may be a virtual object mimicking and/orextending the functionality of a physical whiteboard.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve receiving via a wireless network,an indication of a location of a first wearable extended realityappliance (WER-Appliance). A wireless network may include, for example,a Wi-Fi network, a WiMAX network, a cellular network (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G,or 5G), a mobile network, a satellite communication network, aterrestrial microwave network, a wireless personal area network, awireless local area network, a wireless ad hoc network, a wirelessmetropolitan area network, a wireless wide area network, a wirelessglobal area network, a space network, or any other type of computernetwork that may use wireless data connections between network nodes.

The location of the first wearable extended reality appliance may bedetermined, and the information may be sent to at least one processorvia the non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., a processor ofthe server 210). The determination of the location of the first wearableextended reality appliance may be based on one or more positioningsystems included in the first wearable extended reality appliance, suchas Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors, indoor positioning systems,Wi-Fi-based positioning systems, presence reporting systems for taggedobjects, radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems, positioningsystems based on received signal strength indications of wirelessnetworks, or other types of desired mechanisms configured to identifydevice locations. The location of the first wearable extended realityappliance may be determined periodically, such as continuously, every0.1 seconds, every 0.5 seconds, every 1 second, every 2 seconds, every 3seconds, or at any other desired interval. In other examples, thelocation of the first wearable extended reality appliance may bedetermined when needed, at random points in time, and so forth. Suchlocation information as monitored and updated may be sent to, andreceived by, the at least one processor of the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium. The location of the first wearable extendedreality appliance may comprise, for example, a set of GPS coordinates, abuilding identifier, a room identifier, a space identifier, an officeidentifier, or any other type of positioning data.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 1900 for tyinga virtual whiteboard to a physical space consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure. With reference to FIG. 19, instep 1910, instructions contained in a non-transitory computer-readablemedium when executed by a processor may cause the processor to receivevia a wireless network, an indication of a location of a first wearableextended reality appliance.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve performing a lookup in arepository of virtual whiteboards and locations thereof to determinethat the location of the first wearable extended reality appliancecorresponds to a location of a particular virtual whiteboard. Therepository of virtual whiteboards and locations thereof may refer to adata storage containing, for example, a table of virtual whiteboards(e.g., data for presentation on virtual whiteboards) and correspondinglocations of the virtual whiteboards. For example, each virtualwhiteboard of the virtual whiteboards indicated in the table may have acorresponding location stored in the table. The repository may beimplemented based on or in a similar manner as data structure 212. Insome examples, the repository of virtual whiteboards and locations maybe any data-structure searchable by location and enabling retrieval ofwhiteboards by physical location. In some examples, the location of thefirst wearable extended reality appliance may be a particular room (suchas a particular meeting room, a particular office room, etc.), thelookup in the repository may be based on the particular room to identifyone or more virtual whiteboards positioned in the particular room, andit may be determined that the location of the first wearable extendedreality appliance corresponds to the one or more virtual whiteboardspositioned in the particular room. In one example, the particular roommay be a particular physical room, and the first wearable extendedreality appliance may be located in the particular physical room. Insome examples, the location of the first wearable extended realityappliance may be and/or indicate a particular wall (or a particularsurface of a different type) visible to a user of the first wearableextended reality appliance, the lookup in the repository may be based onthe location of the first wearable extended reality appliance and/or theparticular wall to identify one or more virtual whiteboards placed onthe particular wall, and it may be determined that the location of thefirst wearable extended reality appliance corresponds to the one or morevirtual whiteboards placed on the particular wall. In one example, theparticular wall may be identified by the position and direction of thefirst wearable extended reality appliance. In another example, theparticular wall may be identified by analyzing image data captured by animage sensor included in the first wearable extended reality applianceto detect the particular wall in the image data. In some examples, thelookup in the repository may identify one or more virtual whiteboardspositioned in a distance smaller than a selected threshold from thelocation of the first wearable extended reality appliance, and it may bedetermined that the location of the first wearable extended realityappliance corresponds to the identified one or more virtual whiteboards.In some non-limiting examples, the threshold may be selected based on auser of the first wearable extended reality appliance, based on thelocation of the first wearable extended reality appliance, based on adirection of the first wearable extended reality appliance, based on thewhiteboard, based on a dimension of the whiteboard, based on a type ofthe whiteboard, and so forth.

In some examples, when a particular virtual whiteboard is initiallygenerated for a physical space, a registration process may be triggered,where identification of the virtual whiteboard and the location of thevirtual whiteboard may be determined and sent to the repository. Thegenerated virtual whiteboard may be tied to the physical space. Thelocation of the virtual whiteboard may include, for example, a set ofGPS coordinates, a building identifier, a room identifier, a spaceidentifier, an office identifier, or any other type of positioning data.The information pair of the virtual whiteboard identification and thevirtual whiteboard location may be received by the repository, and maybe stored by the repository (e.g., in a data table). In some examples,an orientation of a particular virtual whiteboard and a position of thevirtual whiteboard relative to the settings of a physical space may berecorded in the repository. By doing so, when the virtual whiteboard isdisplayed in the physical space, the virtual whiteboard may beconfigured, using the orientation and position information recorded inthe repository, to have a consistent (e.g., fixed) orientation andposition relative to the settings of the physical space. For example,using the orientation and position information recorded in therepository, when the virtual whiteboard is displayed in the physicalspace, the virtual whiteboard may be displayed consistently as beingplaced on a particular part of a wall of the physical space (e.g., aconference room).

Information stored in the repository may be queried or retrieved, forexample, for determining whether an extended reality appliance ispresent in a location of any of the virtual whiteboards identified inthe repository. To perform the lookup in the repository, at least oneprocessor may use the location of the first wearable extended realityappliance as a key to search in the repository. The at least oneprocessor may determine whether a location indication matching thelocation of first wearable extended reality appliance is found in therepository. If a matching location indication is found in therepository, the at least one processor may identify a virtual whiteboardcorresponding to the matching location. Based on a lookup as describedabove, the at least one processor may determine that the location of thefirst wearable extended reality appliance corresponds to a location of aparticular virtual whiteboard. If a location indication matching thelocation of the first wearable extended reality appliance is not foundin the repository, the at least one processor may determine that thelocation of the first wearable extended reality appliance does notcorrespond to a location of any virtual whiteboard. A lookup in therepository may be triggered when location information of an extendedreality appliance (e.g., as periodically monitored) is received by theat least one processor, and the lookup may be performed based on thereceived location information.

With reference to FIG. 19, in step 1912, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to perform a lookup in a repository of virtualwhiteboards and locations thereof to determine that the location of thefirst wearable extended reality appliance corresponds to a location of aparticular virtual whiteboard.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve transmitting to the firstwearable extended reality appliance, data corresponding to content ofthe particular virtual whiteboard to thereby enable a first user of thefirst wearable extended reality appliance to virtually view the contentof the particular virtual whiteboard and to add virtual content to theparticular virtual whiteboard. Based on determining that the location ofthe first wearable extended reality appliance corresponds to thelocation of the particular virtual whiteboard, at least one processormay transmit, to the first wearable extended reality appliance, datacorresponding to content of the particular virtual whiteboard. Thetransmitted data may include, for example, text, drawings, colors,shapes, icons, logos, pictures, graphics, annotations, videos,animations, documents, files, links, programs, scripts, or any otherinformation that conveys content for representation on the virtualwhiteboard. In some examples, the content of the particular virtualwhiteboard may include multiple documents contributed by differingusers. The multiple documents may include, for example, text documents,image documents, audio documents, video documents, program documents,scribbles, handwritten text, or any other types of organizations ofdata. The differing users may comprise different persons using extendedreality appliances (or other kind of computerized systems), such asstudents, teachers, presenters, participants, workers, individuals, orother members of the population. Each of the differing users may posthis or her document(s) onto the virtual whiteboard, to share thedocument(s) with other users.

The content of the particular virtual whiteboard may be stored in therepository that may also store identifications and locations for virtualwhiteboards, or in a different repository. The at least one processormay retrieve the content of the particular virtual whiteboard from therepository, and may transmit the retrieved content to the first wearableextended reality appliance. In some examples, the at least one processormay retrieve the configuration of the virtual whiteboard (e.g., thesize, shape, texture, or frame of the virtual whiteboard), which may bestored in the repository. The at least one processor may transmit theconfiguration of the virtual whiteboard to the first wearable extendedreality appliance.

The first wearable extended reality appliance may receive thetransmitted content of the particular virtual whiteboard. In someexamples, the first wearable extended reality appliance may receive thetransmitted configuration of the particular virtual whiteboard. Thefirst wearable extended reality appliance may, based on the receiveddata, render the virtual whiteboard and the content of the virtualwhiteboard, as a virtual representation to a first user of the firstwearable extended reality appliance. The first user may include a personusing the first wearable extended reality appliance, such as a student,a teacher, a presenter, a participant, a worker, an individual, or anyother member of the population. Using the first wearable extendedreality appliance, the first user may virtually view the renderedvirtual whiteboard and the rendered content of the virtual whiteboard.

The first user may add virtual content to the particular virtualwhiteboard. The added virtual content may include, for example, text,drawings, colors, shapes, icons, logos, pictures, graphics, annotations,videos, animations, documents, files, links, programs, scripts,scribbles, handwritten texts, or any other desired representation ofdata. In some examples, the added content may include animated content,such as videos, sequentially displayed images, moving pictures, motionpictures, or any other type of content with moving elements. In someexamples, the added content may include a drawing made by the first userthrough interaction with the particular virtual whiteboard. For example,a physical drawing tool or a digital representation of a drawing toolmay be provided to the first user. The drawing tool when activated mayfollow a travel path of an input device associated with the firstwearable extended reality appliance. Using the drawing tool, the travelpath of the input device may be projected onto the virtual whiteboard,thereby allowing the first user to draw on the virtual whiteboard.Additionally or alternatively, when the drawing tool is intersectingwith and/or is touching and/or in proximity of a region of theparticular virtual whiteboard, a marking may be added to the region ofthe particular virtual whiteboard. The characteristics of the markingadded (such as color, size, texture, etc.) may be selected based on thedrawing tool, based on a parameter of the intersection, based on aparameter of the touch, based on the proximity, based on an analysis ofthe movement of the drawing tool, based on the virtual whiteboard, andso forth. In another example, a part of a body of the first user (suchas a digit, a hand, etc.) may be used by the first user to add contentthrough interaction with the particular virtual whiteboard. For example,when the part of the body is intersecting with and/or is touching and/orin proximity of a region of the particular virtual whiteboard, a markingmay be added to the region of the particular virtual whiteboard. Thecharacteristics of the marking added (such as color, size, texture,etc.) may be selected based on the gesture, based on a parameter of theintersection, based on a parameter of the touch, based on the proximity,based on the virtual whiteboard, and so forth.

To add virtual content to the virtual whiteboard, the first user mayinput user commands to the first wearable extended reality applianceusing an input device associated with the first wearable extendedreality appliance. The virtual whiteboard may have one or more functionsthat may allow the first user to add virtual content to the virtualwhiteboard. For example, a function to add text may allow the first userto type text onto the virtual whiteboard. As another example, a functionto add drawings may allow the first user to draw on the virtualwhiteboard. By way of another example, a function to add files may allowthe first user to upload a file onto the virtual whiteboard. As anotherexample, a function to add pictures may allow the first user to upload apicture onto the virtual whiteboard. Other functions to add virtualcontent to the virtual whiteboard may be provided as desired. The firstuser may use an input device of the first wearable extended realityappliance to invoke one or more of the functions, and to add virtualcontent to the virtual whiteboard. In addition, the virtual whiteboardmay have functions to modify or remove virtual content of the virtualwhiteboard. Using the functions, the first user may select virtualcontent of the virtual whiteboard for modification or removal.

With reference to FIG. 19, in step 1914, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to transmit to the first wearable extended realityappliance, data corresponding to content of the particular virtualwhiteboard to thereby enable a first user of the first wearable extendedreality appliance to virtually view the content of the particularvirtual whiteboard and to add virtual content to the particular virtualwhiteboard.

FIG. 20 and FIG. 21 are schematic diagrams illustrating examples oftying a virtual whiteboard to a physical space consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure. With reference to FIG. 20, aphysical space 2010 may include a conference room, a classroom, adiscussion room, a work room, a meeting room, an office, a living room,a bedroom, a kitchen, a hall, a concourse, an indoor space, aplayground, an outdoor space, or any other desired environment. A firstuser 2016 may be present in the physical space 2010, and may wear afirst wearable extended reality appliance. A virtual whiteboard 2012 maybe displayed via the first wearable extended reality appliance to thefirst user 2016. The virtual whiteboard 2012 may be displayed as beingplaced on a wall 2014. The virtual whiteboard 2012 may be tied to thephysical space 2010. Based on the first wearable extended realityappliance being in the physical space 2010, the first wearable extendedreality appliance may receive and display the virtual whiteboard 2012and content of the virtual whiteboard 2012. The content of the virtualwhiteboard 2012 may include, for example, text 2018 and multipledocuments 2020, 2022. The first user 2016 may add virtual content to thevirtual whiteboard 2012 (for example, using the first wearable extendedreality appliance, using an input device, using a physical marking tool,using a virtual marking tool, using gestures, using voice commands, byinteracting with virtual whiteboard 2012, etc.).

Some disclosed embodiments may involve receiving, during a first timeperiod, the virtual content added by the first user. For example,receiving may include obtaining by at least one processor, signalsreflecting virtual content. Based on the adding of the virtual contentto the particular virtual whiteboard by the first user, the firstwearable extended reality appliance may send signals reflecting theadded virtual content to the at least one processor. The at least oneprocessor may receive, during a first time period, the virtual contentadded by the first user. The virtual content added by the first user maybe received from the first wearable extended reality appliance, from adevice associated with the first wearable extended reality appliance,from a fixed camera placed in a vicinity of the particular virtualwhiteboard, or from any other suitable entities having informationassociated with the added virtual content. In some examples, the firsttime period may be a time period before the first wearable extendedreality appliance leaves the location of the particular virtualwhiteboard. For example, the first time period may include the time ofthe addition of the virtual content to the particular virtual by thefirst user. In some examples, the first time period may be a time periodafter the first wearable extended reality appliance is no longer in thelocation of the particular virtual whiteboard. In some examples, thefirst time period may be a time period during which the first wearableextended reality appliance leaves the location of the particular virtualwhiteboard. For example, the first time period may be a time periodafter the time of the addition of the virtual content to the particularvirtual by the first user. For example, the virtual content added to theparticular virtual whiteboard by the first user may be received from anexternal device that stored the virtual content from the time of theaddition. The external device may provide the virtual content (forexample, by transmitting it) once the first wearable extended realityappliance leaves the location of the particular virtual whiteboardand/or after the first wearable extended reality appliance is no longerin the location of the particular virtual whiteboard (for example, toovercome communication problems at the location of the particularvirtual whiteboard, to minimize communication costs, and so forth). Withreference to FIG. 19, in step 1916, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to receive, during a first time period, the virtualcontent added by the first user. The processor may be part of, forexample, server 210.

In some examples, the instructions contained in the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium may further include storing the added contentin the repository of virtual whiteboards. Based on receiving the virtualcontent added by the first user from the first wearable extended realityappliance, the at least one processor may store the added content in therepository of virtual whiteboards and locations thereof. The addedcontent may be stored in the repository in association with theparticular virtual whiteboard to which the added content is added.

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium may include receiving via thewireless network at a second time period after the first wearableextended reality appliance is no longer in the location of theparticular virtual whiteboard, an indication that a second wearableextended reality appliance is in the location of the particular virtualwhiteboard. After the first user has added the virtual content to theparticular virtual whiteboard using the first wearable extended realityappliance, the first wearable extended reality appliance may leave thelocation of the particular virtual whiteboard. For example, the firstuser may leave the location of the particular virtual whiteboard, andmay take the first wearable extended reality appliance with him or her.At a second time period after the first wearable extended realityappliance is no longer in the location of the particular virtualwhiteboard, a second wearable extended reality appliance (which maydiffer from or be the same as the first wearable extended realityappliance) may arrive at the location of the particular virtualwhiteboard. For example, a second user in possession of the secondwearable extended reality appliance, may arrive at a vicinity of thevirtual whiteboard. By way of another example, a second user may enter aconference room, a classroom, a discussion room, a work room, an office,a meeting room, a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, a hall, aconcourse, an indoor space, a playground, an outdoor space, or any otherdesired environment associated with the location of the particularvirtual whiteboard, and may take the second wearable extended realityappliance with him or her.

In a similar manner as the first wearable extended reality appliance,the second wearable extended reality appliance (or another process orcomputerized system) may periodically monitor the location of the secondwearable extended reality appliance. In other examples, the location ofthe second wearable extended reality appliance may be determined whenneeded, at random points in time, and so forth. For example, the secondwearable extended reality appliance may use positioning systems todetermine its location. The second wearable extended reality appliancemay send the location information (e.g., as periodically monitored) viathe wireless network to at least one processor (e.g., a processor of theserver 210). The at least one processor may receive the locationinformation sent by the second wearable extended reality appliance. Thereceived location information may indicate, to the at least oneprocessor, whether the second wearable extended reality appliance is inthe location of the particular virtual whiteboard (or in a location thatcorresponds to the location of the particular virtual whiteboard). Forexample, the at least one processor may compare the received locationinformation of the second wearable extended reality appliance withlocations of virtual whiteboards included in the repository. If thelocation information of the second wearable extended reality appliancematches the location of the particular virtual whiteboard, the at leastone processor may determine that the second wearable extended realityappliance is in the location of the particular virtual whiteboard. Inanother example, it may be determined that the second wearable extendedreality appliance is in a location that corresponds to the location ofthe particular virtual whiteboard in a similar manner to thedetermination that the location of the first wearable extended realityappliance corresponds to the location of the particular virtualwhiteboard.

In some examples, the second time period and the first time period mayhave no overlap. For example, the first time period may end before thesecond time period starts. In some examples, the first time period maystart after the second time period ends. In some examples, the secondtime period and the first time period may have overlap, but may differfrom one another (e.g., may be of unequal durations). In some examples,the second time period and the first time period may be identical (e.g.,may have a generally equal duration).

With reference to FIG. 19, in step 1918, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to receive via the wireless network at a second timeperiod after the first wearable extended reality appliance is no longerin the location of the particular virtual whiteboard, an indication thata second wearable extended reality appliance is in the location of theparticular virtual whiteboard.

Some disclosed embodiments may also involve transmitting to the secondwearable extended reality appliance, data corresponding to the contentand the added content of the particular virtual whiteboard, to therebyenable a second user of the second wearable extended reality applianceto view the content and the added content while the first user is absentfrom the location of the particular virtual whiteboard. Based onreceiving the indication that the second wearable extended realityappliance is in the location of the particular virtual whiteboard, atleast one processor may transmit, to the second wearable extendedreality appliance, data corresponding to the content of the particularvirtual whiteboard (e.g., the content transmitted previously to thefirst wearable extended reality appliance) and corresponding to thevirtual content added by the first user to the particular virtualwhiteboard. Such data may be stored in memory with a marker associatingthe content with the virtual whiteboard. Therefore, although the firstwearable extended reality device is not present, the data may beretrieved from memory and sent to the second wearable extended realitydevice. Such a process may occur as the result of at least oneprocessor, such as processor of the server 210, accessing the data fortransmission.

In some examples, the data transmitted to the second wearable extendedreality appliance may include an indication that the first usercontributed the added content. For example, when the first user adds thevirtual content to the particular virtual whiteboard, an indication thatthe first user contributed the added content may be recorded by thefirst wearable extended reality appliance, and may be sent to, andstored by, the at least one processor of the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium. That is, the at least one processor may storethe added content in memory for later retrieval. The indication that thefirst user contributed the added content may include, for example,initials of the first user, a code associated with the first user, ausername of the first user, user identification of the first user (e.g.,a user identification number), a location of the first user when thefirst user adds the virtual content to the particular virtualwhiteboard, a time when the first user adds the virtual content to theparticular virtual whiteboard, a place of the first user when the firstuser adds the virtual content to the particular virtual whiteboard, orany other desired information associated with the first user adding thevirtual content to the particular virtual whiteboard. The indicationassociated with the added content may be stored in connection with theadded content (e.g., in the repository). The at least one processor maybe configured to transmit an indication associated with the addedcontent to the second wearable extended reality appliance. In oneexample, the second wearable extended reality appliance may beconfigured to provide a visual indication that the first usercontributed the added content (for example, to a user of the secondwearable extended reality appliance), for example based on theindication that the first user contributed the added content in the datatransmitted to the second wearable extended reality appliance.

In some examples, the data transmitted to the second wearable extendedreality appliance may include an indication of when the added contentwas added to the particular virtual whiteboard. For example, when thefirst user adds the virtual content to the particular virtualwhiteboard, a time stamp of when the adding of the virtual contentoccurs may be recorded by the first wearable extended reality appliance,and may be sent to, and stored by, the at least one processor. The timestamp may be recorded in connection with the added content (e.g., in therepository), and may be transmitted in connection with the added content(e.g., to the second wearable extended reality appliance). In oneexample, the second wearable extended reality appliance may beconfigured to provide a visual indication of when the added content wasadded to the particular virtual whiteboard (for example, to a user ofthe second wearable extended reality appliance), for example based onthe indication of when the added content was added to the particularvirtual whiteboard in the data transmitted to the second wearableextended reality appliance.

The transmission of the data to the second wearable extended realityappliance may enable a second user of the second wearable extendedreality appliance to view the content of the particular virtualwhiteboard (e.g., the content transmitted also to the first wearableextended reality appliance) and the content added by the first user tothe particular virtual whiteboard, while the first user is absent fromthe location of the particular virtual whiteboard. The second user mayinclude a person using the second wearable extended reality appliance,such as a student, a teacher, a presenter, a participant, a worker, anindividual, or any other member of the population.

With reference to FIG. 19, in step 1920, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to transmit to the second wearable extended realityappliance, data corresponding to the content and the added content ofthe particular virtual whiteboard, to thereby enable a second user ofthe second wearable extended reality appliance to view the content andthe added content while the first user is absent from the location ofthe particular virtual whiteboard.

With reference to FIG. 21, a second user 2112 wearing a second wearableextended reality appliance may come to (or enter) the physical space2010, for example, after the first user 2016 wearing the first wearableextended reality appliance leaves the physical space 2010. Based on thesecond wearable extended reality appliance being in the physical space2010, the second wearable extended reality appliance may receive anddisplay the virtual whiteboard 2012, the content of the virtualwhiteboard 2012 (e.g., the text 2018 and the multiple documents 2020,2022), and virtual content added by the first user 2016 to the virtualwhiteboard 2012. The virtual content added by the first user 2016 to thevirtual whiteboard 2012 may include, for example, an image 2110.

Some examples may involve causing the multiple documents to be displayedin a common layout arrangement during both the first time period and thesecond time period. The content of the particular virtual whiteboardthat may be displayed during the first time period and the second timeperiod may include multiple documents. The multiple documents may bedisplayed in a common layout arrangement. For example, each of themultiple documents may be displayed as a large icon. As another example,each of the multiple documents may be displayed as a small icon. By wayof another example, the multiple documents may be displayed in the formof tiles. As another example, the multiple documents may be displayed ina list. As another example, each of the multiple documents may bedisplayed, showing contents of the document. The multiple documents maybe displayed in any other desired common manner. It is contemplated thatthe layout used to display the documents during the first time period toa first user may be the same as the layout used to display the documentsduring the second time period to a second user. For example, withreference to FIG. 20 and FIG. 21, the multiple documents 2020, 2022 maybe displayed in a common layout arrangement (e.g., one below the otheron a right side of the display) using icons during both a time periodwhen the first user 2016 is present in the physical space 2010 and atime period when the second user 2112 is present in the physical space2010. Similarly, for example, text 2018 may be displayed above image2110 on a left side of the display during both a time period when thefirst user 2016 is present in the physical space 2010 and a time periodwhen the second user 2112 is present in the physical space 2010.

Some examples may involve automatically erasing at least some of themultiple documents from the particular virtual whiteboard uponexpiration of a maintenance period. The maintenance period may be, forexample, 15 days, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2years, or any other interval or time duration suitable for automaticallyremoving documents from a virtual whiteboard. In some examples, themaintenance period may be specific to each of the multiple documents. Insome examples, the maintenance period for a particular document may beset by a user who adds the particular document to the particular virtualwhiteboard. In some examples, the maintenance period may be adjusted byother users or may be based on policies (e.g., policies of anorganization or group). In some examples, the maintenance period may bedifferent for different types of documents (e.g., 2 months for textdocuments and 1 month for video documents). At least one processor ofthe non-transitory computer-readable medium may be configured, forexample, to set a timer corresponding to a maintenance period for adocument of multiple documents displayed on a virtual whiteboard. Uponexpiration of the timer, the at least one processor may be configured toautomatically erase the document from that particular virtualwhiteboard.

Further embodiments may involve accessing rules associating users ofwearable extended reality appliances with permissions to add content tothe particular virtual whiteboard, and using the accessed rules todetermine that the first user can add content on the particular virtualwhiteboard. The rules associating the users with the permissions to addcontent to the particular virtual whiteboard may include an indicationof whether each of the users is permitted to add content to theparticular virtual whiteboard. For example, the repository of virtualwhiteboards may store, for each virtual whiteboard, a user permissiontable for adding content. The user permission table may list one or moreusers of the virtual whiteboard, and whether the one or more users havepermission to add content to the virtual whiteboard. At least oneprocessor may access the permission information for adding content forthe particular virtual whiteboard. Based on the accessed permissioninformation, the at least one processor may determine whether a firstuser is permitted to add content on the particular virtual whiteboard.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 2200 for addingcontent to a virtual whiteboard consistent with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure. With reference to FIG. 22, in step 2210,instructions contained in a non-transitory computer-readable medium whenexecuted by a processor may cause the processor to access rulesassociating users of wearable extended reality appliances withpermissions to add content to the particular virtual whiteboard. In step2212, instructions contained in a non-transitory computer-readablemedium when executed by a processor may cause the processor to use theaccessed rules to determine that the first user can add content on theparticular virtual whiteboard. In some examples, the determination thatthe first user can add content on the particular virtual whiteboard maybe based on the location of the particular virtual whiteboard. In oneexample, the rules associating users of wearable extended realityappliances with permissions to add content to the particular virtualwhiteboard may include rules associating the users with permissionsbased on locations of virtual whiteboards. For example, the first usermay have permission to add content to all virtual whiteboard in a firstregion (such as a particular building, a particular floor, a particularroom, etc.). In another example, the first user may have no permissionto add content to all virtual whiteboard in a second region (such as aparticular building, a particular floor, a particular room, etc.).

In some examples, the determination that the first user can add contenton the particular virtual whiteboard may be based on an access privilegeof the first user to the particular virtual whiteboard, or may be basedon a position within an organization associated with the first user. Theaccess privilege of a first user to the particular virtual whiteboardmay indicate, for example, to what extent the first user is permitted toaccess the particular virtual whiteboard, such as whether the first useris permitted to add content to the particular virtual whiteboard,whether the first user is permitted to delete content from theparticular virtual whiteboard, whether the first user is permitted tomodify content of the particular virtual whiteboard, or whether thefirst user is permitted to view content of the particular virtualwhiteboard. The organization associated with a first user may include,for example, a company, a firm, a government agency, an educationinstitution, a school, a university, or any other entity. The positionwithin the organization may be based on, for example, a job function orwork responsibilities of the first user. For example, the positionwithin the organization may include a supervisor, an employee, anofficer, a board member, a president, a manager, a director, or anyother appropriate job description or title within an organization.Permissions to add content to the particular virtual whiteboard may bedifferent for different positions within the organization. The at leastone processor may determine whether the first user can add content onthe particular virtual whiteboard based on the access privilege of thefirst user to the particular virtual whiteboard, or based on theposition within the organization associated with the first user.

Some embodiments may further involve accessing rules associating userswith permissions to delete content from the particular virtualwhiteboard, and using the accessed rules to determine that the seconduser is permitted to delete the added content from the particularvirtual whiteboard. The rules associating the users with the permissionsto delete content from the particular virtual whiteboard may includeindication of whether each of the users is permitted to delete contentfrom the particular virtual whiteboard. For example, the repository ofvirtual whiteboards may store, for each virtual whiteboard, a userpermission table for deleting content. The user permission table maylist one or more users of the virtual whiteboard, and whether the one ormore users have permission to delete content from the virtualwhiteboard. At least one processor of the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium may access the permission information fordeleting content for the particular virtual whiteboard. Based on theaccessed permission information, the at least one processor maydetermine whether a second user is permitted to delete content (e.g.,the content added by the first user to the particular virtualwhiteboard) from the particular virtual whiteboard. In some examples,the determination that the second user is permitted to delete the addedcontent from the particular virtual whiteboard may be based on thelocation of the particular virtual whiteboard. In one example, the rulesassociating users with permissions to delete content from the particularvirtual whiteboard may include rules associating the users withpermissions based on locations of virtual whiteboards. For example, thesecond user may be permitted to delete content from all virtualwhiteboard in a first region (such as a particular building, aparticular floor, a particular room, etc.). In another example, thesecond user may have no permission to delete content from all virtualwhiteboard in a second region (such as a particular building, aparticular floor, a particular room, etc.). In some examples, thedetermination that the second user is permitted to delete the addedcontent from the particular virtual whiteboard may be based on the firstuser. In one example, the rules associating users with permissions todelete content from the particular virtual whiteboard may associate theusers with permissions based on identities of content creatorsassociated with the content to be deleted. For example, the second usermay be permitted to delete content added to the particular virtualwhiteboard by individuals of a first group of individuals. In anotherexample, the second user may have no permission to delete content addedto the particular virtual whiteboard by individuals of a second group ofindividuals. The determination that the second user is permitted todelete the added content from the particular virtual whiteboard may bebased on whether the first user is included in the first group and/orbased on whether the first user is included in the second group.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 2300 fordeleting content from a virtual whiteboard consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure. With reference to FIG. 23, instep 2310, instructions contained in a non-transitory computer-readablemedium when executed by a processor may cause the processor to accessrules associating users with permissions to delete content from theparticular virtual whiteboard. In step 2312, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to use the accessed rules to determine that thesecond user is permitted to delete the added content from the particularvirtual whiteboard.

In some examples, the determination that the second user is permitted todelete content from the particular virtual whiteboard may be based on aposition within an organization associated with the second user, or maybe based on an access privilege of the second user to the particularvirtual whiteboard. The access privilege of the second user to theparticular virtual whiteboard may indicate, for example, to what extentthe second user is permitted to access the particular virtualwhiteboard, such as whether the second user is permitted to add contentto the particular virtual whiteboard, whether the second user ispermitted to delete content from the particular virtual whiteboard,whether the second user is permitted to modify content of the particularvirtual whiteboard, or whether the second user is permitted to viewcontent of the particular virtual whiteboard. The organizationassociated with the second user may include, for example, a company, afirm, a government agency, an education institution, a school, auniversity, or any other entity. The position within the organizationmay be based on, for example, a job function or work responsibilities ofthe second user. For example, the position within the organization mayinclude a supervisor, an employee, an officer, a board member, apresident, a manager, a director, or any other appropriate jobdescription or title within an organization. Permissions to deletecontent from the particular virtual whiteboard may be different fordifferent positions within the organization. The at least one processormay determine whether the second user is permitted to delete contentfrom the particular virtual whiteboard based on the access privilege ofthe second user to the particular virtual whiteboard, or based on theposition within the organization associated with the second user.

Additional embodiments may involve accessing rules associating types ofcontent with permissions to upload content to the particular virtualwhiteboard, and using the accessed rules to determine that the addedcontent is permitted for posting on the particular virtual whiteboard.The rules associating the types of content with the permissions toupload content to the particular virtual whiteboard may includeindication of whether one or more of the types of content is permittedto be uploaded to the particular virtual whiteboard. The types ofcontent may include, for example, scientific content, research content,accounting content, financial content, administrative content, trainingcontent, professional content, personal content, or other categories ofcontent. In another example, the types of content may be based on acategory of the content, such as textual, visual, footage, animated,unanimated, handwritten, scribbled, and so forth. For example, therepository of virtual whiteboards may store, for each virtualwhiteboard, a content-type permission table for uploading content. Thecontent-type permission table may list the one or more types of content,and whether the one or more types of content are permitted to beuploaded to the virtual whiteboard. At least one processor may accessthe permission information for uploading content for the particularvirtual whiteboard. Based on the accessed permission information, the atleast one processor may determine whether content (e.g., the contentadded by the first user to the particular virtual whiteboard) ispermitted to be uploaded to the particular virtual whiteboard forposting on the particular virtual whiteboard. For example, the firstuser may mark or tag the added content with a content type fordetermining whether the added content is permitted to be uploaded to theparticular virtual whiteboard for posting on the particular virtualwhiteboard.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 2400 foruploading content to a virtual whiteboard based on types of contentconsistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Withreference to FIG. 24, in step 2410, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to access rules associating types of content withpermissions to upload content to the particular virtual whiteboard. Instep 2412, instructions contained in a non-transitory computer-readablemedium when executed by a processor may cause the processor to use theaccessed rules to determine that the added content is permitted forposting on the particular virtual whiteboard.

In some examples, the determination that the added content is permittedfor posting on the particular virtual whiteboard may be based on contentanalysis of the added content. For example, the added content may bepermitted for posting on the particular virtual whiteboard based onimages analysis of the added content to determine that there is nonudity in the added content. Additionally or alternatively, imageanalysis of the added content may be used to determine variouscharacteristics of the added content, such as unclear or blurred images,images with insufficient lighting, images of restricted objects (e.g.,restricted government facility), images of a confidential document orprototype, or other image features of interest. One or more criteria topermit content posting on the particular virtual whiteboard may beconfigured, for example, based on policies (e.g., policies of anorganization or group). The one or more criteria may indicate, forexample, whether images with particular characteristics are permittedfor posting on the particular virtual whiteboard. Based on imageanalysis of the added content, when determined characteristics of theadded content satisfy the one or more criteria, the added content may bepermitted for posting on the particular virtual whiteboard. Based onimage analysis of the added content, when determined characteristics ofthe added content do not satisfy the one or more criteria, the addedcontent might not be permitted for posting on the particular virtualwhiteboard. In some examples, the type of content may be determined byanalyzing the added content, for example using a visual classificationalgorithm classifying each content to one of a plurality of classes,where each class correspond to a content type. In some examples, abinary visual classification algorithm may be used to classify the addedcontent to one of two classes, where one class may be permitted forposting, and the other class may not be permitted for posting.

As another example, the added content may be permitted for posting onthe particular virtual whiteboard based on text analysis of the addedcontent to determine that there is no offensive language in the addedcontent. Additionally or alternatively, text analysis of the addedcontent may be used to determine various characteristics of the addedcontent, such as text with spelling errors, text with grammaticalerrors, text of a confidential document or prototype, or other textfeatures of interest. One or more criteria to permit content posting onthe particular virtual whiteboard may be configured, for example, basedon policies (e.g., policies of an organization or group). The one ormore criteria may indicate, for example, whether text with particularcharacteristics is permitted for posting on the particular virtualwhiteboard. Based on text analysis of the added content, when determinedcharacteristics of the added content satisfy the one or more criteria,the added content may be permitted for posting on the particular virtualwhiteboard. Based on text analysis of the added content, when determinedcharacteristics of the added content do not satisfy the one or morecriteria, the added content might not be permitted for posting on theparticular virtual whiteboard. In some examples, the type of content maybe determined by analyzing the added content, for example using atextual classification algorithm classifying each content to one of aplurality of classes, where each class correspond to a content type. Insome examples, a binary textual classification algorithm may be used toclassify the added content to one of two classes, where one class may bepermitted for posting, and the other class may not be permitted forposting.

Additional embodiments may involve accessing rules associating users ofwearable extended reality appliances with permissions to view contentfrom the particular virtual whiteboard, and using the accessed rules todetermine that the second user is permitted to view the added content onthe particular virtual whiteboard. The rules associating the users withthe permissions to view content from the particular virtual whiteboardmay include indication of whether each of the users is permitted to viewcontent from the particular virtual whiteboard. For example, therepository of virtual whiteboards may store, for each virtualwhiteboard, a user permission table for viewing content. The userpermission table may list one or more users of the virtual whiteboard,and whether the one or more users have permission to view content fromthe virtual whiteboard. At least one processor may access the permissioninformation for viewing content for the particular virtual whiteboard.Based on the accessed permission information, the at least one processormay determine whether a second user is permitted to view content (e.g.,the content added by the first user to the particular virtualwhiteboard) on the particular virtual whiteboard. In some examples, thedetermination that the second user is permitted to view the addedcontent from the particular virtual whiteboard may be based on thelocation of the particular virtual whiteboard. In one example, the rulesassociating users with permissions to view content from the particularvirtual whiteboard may include rules associating the users withpermissions based on locations of the particular virtual whiteboard. Forexample, the second user may be permitted to view content from allvirtual whiteboard in a first region (such as a particular building, aparticular floor, a particular room, etc.). In another example, thesecond user may have no permission to view content from all virtualwhiteboard in a second region (such as a particular building, aparticular floor, a particular room, etc.). In some examples, thedetermination that the second user is permitted to view the addedcontent from the particular virtual whiteboard may be based on the firstuser. In one example, the rules associating users with permissions toview content from the particular virtual whiteboard may include rulesassociating the users with permissions based on identities of contentcreators associated with the content to be viewed. For example, thesecond user may be permitted to view content added to the particularvirtual whiteboard by individuals of a first group of individuals. Inanother example, the second user may have no permission to view contentadded to the particular virtual whiteboard by individuals of a secondgroup of individuals. The determination that the second user ispermitted to view the added content from the particular virtualwhiteboard may be based on whether the first user is included in thefirst group and/or based on whether the first user is included in thesecond group.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 2500 forviewing content from a virtual whiteboard consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure. With reference to FIG. 25, instep 2510, instructions contained in a non-transitory computer-readablemedium when executed by a processor may cause the processor to accessrules associating users of wearable extended reality appliances withpermissions to view content from the particular virtual whiteboard. Instep 2512, instructions contained in a non-transitory computer-readablemedium when executed by a processor may cause the processor to use theaccessed rules to determine that the second user is permitted to viewthe added content on the particular virtual whiteboard.

In some examples, the determination that the second user is permitted toview the added content on the particular virtual whiteboard may be basedon an age of the second user. Permissions to view content on a virtualwhiteboard may be different for different ages of users. For example, acontent item of a virtual whiteboard may be permitted to be viewed byusers who are 18 years of age or older, and may not be permitted to beviewed by users who are under 18 years of age. The at least oneprocessor may determine, based on the age of the second user, whetherthe second user is permitted to view content (e.g., the content added bythe first user to the particular virtual whiteboard) on the particularvirtual whiteboard. The age restriction for viewing a content item maybe specified by the user who adds the content item to a virtualwhiteboard, may be specified by other users, or may be configured basedon policies (e.g., policies of an organization or group).

Further embodiments may involve receiving via the wireless network at atime before the second time period, an indication of at least one classof content of interest to the second user, determining that a first partof the added content is included in the at least one class of interestto the second user, and enabling the second user to view the first partof the added content. The at least one class of content of interest tothe second user may be configured by the second user. For example, thesecond user may identify one or more classes of content, such asscientific content, research content, accounting content, financialcontent, administrative content, training content, professional content,personal content, or other categories of content. The at least oneprocessor may receive an indication of one or more content classes, forexample, at a time before the second time period at which the indicationthat the second wearable extended reality appliance is in the locationof the particular virtual whiteboard is received.

The at least one processor may determine whether any part of the contentadded by the first user to the particular virtual whiteboard is includedin at least one class of interest to the second user. In some examples,the at least one processor may perform content classification techniqueson different parts of the added content to determine one or more classesfor each of the different parts of the added content. In some examples,the first user may mark or tag each of the different parts of the addedcontent with one or more suitable classes. The at least one processormay determine whether the class(es) for each of the different parts ofthe added content match one or more of the at least one class ofinterest to the second user. Based on determining that a first part ofthe added content is included in the at least one class of interest tothe second user, the at least one processor may send the first part ofthe added content to the second wearable extended reality appliance, andenable the second user to view the first part of the added content viathe second wearable extended reality appliance.

For example, with reference to FIG. 20 and FIG. 21, a first user 2016may assign different content classes to the items that may be displayedon the virtual whiteboard 2012 (e.g., the text 2018, the image 2110, thedocument 2020, or the document 2022). A second user 2112 may identify aninterest in one of the different content classes. An item, of the items,corresponding to the content class identified by the second user 2112may be provided to the second user 2112 for viewing. One or more of theitems not corresponding to the content class identified by the seconduser 2112 may not be provided to the second user 2112 for viewing.

In some examples, image data captured using an image sensor included inthe first wearable extended reality appliance while the first userinteracts with a first portion of the particular whiteboard may bereceived. For example, the image data may be received from the imagesensor, from the first wearable extended reality appliance, from anintermediate device external to the first wearable extended realityappliance, from a memory unit, and so forth. The image data may beanalyzed to detect a physical object moving in a trajectory, for exampleusing an object tracking algorithm. In one example, the physical objectand the first user may be on opposite sides of the particularwhiteboard. In one example, a presentation of the particular whiteboardvia the first wearable extended reality appliance may hide, at leastpartly, the physical object from the first user. For example, a raycasting algorithm may be used to determine that the particularwhiteboard hides, at least partly, the physical object from the firstuser. In one example, the trajectory of the physical object may beanalyzed, for example using an extrapolation algorithm, to determine alikelihood that the physical object is about to move through a secondportion of the particular whiteboard. The second portion and the firstportion of the particular whiteboard may be disjoint, may be identical,may have some but not all area in common, may have no area in common,and so forth. Further, a visual indication of the second portion may beprovided to the first user, for example via the first wearable extendedreality appliance. In some examples, the visual indication may furtherindicate at least one of the physical object, a type of the physicalobject, a velocity of the physical object, the trajectory, a distance ofthe physical object from the particular whiteboard, or a likely time ofintersection of the physical object with the second portion of theparticular whiteboard by the physical object. In some examples, the typeof the physical object may be determined, for example by analyzing theimage data using an object recognition algorithm. Further, in responseto a first determined type of the physical object (such as a smallphysical object, a fly, etc.), providing the visual indication may beavoided, and in response to a second determined type of the physicalobject (such as a large physical object, a person, etc.), the visualindication may be provided. In another example, the physical object maybe a person, in response to a determination that the person is using awearable device that provides the person with an indication of theparticular white board, providing the visual indication may be avoided,and in response to a determination that the person is not using awearable device that provides the person with an indication of theparticular white board, the visual indication may be provided. In oneexample, the visual indication of the second portion may include haltingthe presentation of the second portion of the particular whiteboard viathe first wearable extended reality appliance. In another example, thevisual indication of the second portion may include a presentation of avirtual object indicating the second portion of the particularwhiteboard (such as an arrow, a halo, and so forth). In yet anotherexample, the visual indication of the second portion may include apresentation of the second portion of the particular whiteboard withdifferent presentation parameters.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 2600 forviewing virtual whiteboard content of interest to a user consistent withsome embodiments of the present disclosure. With reference to FIG. 26,in step 2610, instructions contained in a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium when executed by a processor may cause theprocessor to receive via the wireless network at a time before thesecond time period, an indication of at least one class of content ofinterest to the second user. In step 2612, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to determine that a first part of the added contentis included in the at least one class of interest to the second user. Instep 2614, instructions contained in a non-transitory computer-readablemedium when executed by a processor may cause the processor to enablethe second user to view the first part of the added content. In step2616, instructions contained in a non-transitory computer-readablemedium when executed by a processor may cause the processor to determinethat a second part of added content is excluded from the class ofcontent of interest to the second user. In step 2618, instructionscontained in a non-transitory computer-readable medium when executed bya processor may cause the processor to preclude display of a second partof added content to the second user.

Some embodiments may involve determining that a second part of the addedcontent is excluded from the at least one class of content of interestto the second user, and precluding display of the second part of theadded content to the second user. The at least one processor maydetermine whether any part of the content added by the first user to theparticular virtual whiteboard is included in the at least one class ofinterest to the second user. In some examples, the at least oneprocessor may perform content classification techniques on differentparts of the added content to determine one or more classes for each ofthe different parts of the added content. In some examples, the firstuser may mark or tag each of the different parts of the added contentwith one or more suitable classes. The at least one processor maydetermine whether the class(es) for each of the different parts of theadded content match one or more of the at least one class of interest tothe second user. Based on determining that a second part of the addedcontent is excluded from the at least one class of interest to thesecond user, the at least one processor may preclude display of thesecond part of the added content to the second user. In some examples,the second part of the added content includes advertising, such ascommercials, television advertisements, newspaper advertisements, radioadvertisements, online advertisements, or any other type of promotionalannouncement or publication.

For example, with reference to FIG. 20 and FIG. 21, a first user 2016may assign different content classes to the items that may be displayedon the virtual whiteboard 2012 (e.g., the text 2018, the image 2110, thedocument 2020, or the document 2022). A second user 2112 may identify aninterest in one of the different content classes. An item, of the items,corresponding to the content class identified by the second user 2112may be provided to the second user 2112 for viewing. One or more of theitems not corresponding to the content class identified by the seconduser 2112 may not be provided to the second user 2112 for viewing. Theone or more items not provided to the second user 2112 for viewing may,for example, include advertising.

In some examples, the second wearable extended reality appliance may beconfigured to receive via the wireless network at a time before thesecond time period, at least one indication of a class of content thatthe second user of the second wearable extended reality appliance isinterested in viewing; receive the data corresponding to the content andthe added content of the particular virtual whiteboard; determine thatthe added content is associated with the at least one class that thesecond user of the second wearable extended reality appliance isinterested in viewing: and display to the second user of the secondwearable extended reality appliance the added content. For example, thesecond wearable extended reality appliance may be further configured to:determine that a specific content associated with a different virtualwhiteboard is associated with a class that the second user of the secondwearable extended reality appliance is not interested in viewing; andavoid displaying to the second user of the second wearable extendedreality appliance the specific content. In some examples, the specificcontent may include advertisements.

Viewing content in extended reality environment has significantadvantages and disadvantages when compared to viewing content on aphysical display. On one hand, the boundaries and size limit of thephysical display vanishes, enabling viewing content of any size and inevery place in the environment. Furthermore, the content may be threedimensional, and may interact with physical elements of the environment.Moreover, when it comes to privacy, content in extended reality may beviewed in private without the danger of someone catching a glimpse ofthe displayed content. On the other hand, display quality of extendedreality appliances may be lesser than the one of physical displays,viewing the content may require usage of extended reality applianceswhich may be burdensome when used for long periods of time, and thecontent may not be easily shared with people that do not use extendedreality appliances to share the extended reality environment. To enableusers to enjoy the benefits of both mediums, it is desired to enable theuser to easily move content from extended reality to physical displaysand vise versa.

Some disclosed embodiments may include a non-transitory computerreadable medium containing instructions that when executed by at leastone processor cause the at least one processor to perform operations fortransferring virtual content to a physical display device. Virtualcontent may include a virtual object, inanimate virtual content, animatevirtual content configured to change over time or in response totriggers, virtual two-dimensional content, virtual three-dimensionalcontent, a virtual overlay over a portion of a physical environment orover a physical object, a virtual addition to a physical environment orto a physical object, a virtual promotion content, a virtualrepresentation of a physical object, a virtual representation of aphysical environment, a virtual document, a virtual character orpersona, a virtual computer screen, a virtual widget, or any otherformat for displaying information virtually. In one example, the virtualobject may be or include a virtual display screen (also referred to as a“virtual display” or a “virtual screen” herein), as described above. Anexample of such virtual display screen may include virtual screen 112.Consistent with the present disclosure, the virtual content may includeany visual presentation rendered by a computer or a processing device,for example presented in an extended reality environment by an extendedreality appliance (for example, presented in an extended realityenvironment to a user via a wearable extended reality appliance). In oneembodiment, the virtual content may include a virtual object that is avisual presentation rendered by a computer in a confined region andconfigured to represent an object of a particular type (such as aninanimate virtual object, an animate virtual object, virtual furniture,a virtual decorative object, virtual widget, or other virtualrepresentation). The rendered visual presentation may change to reflectchanges to a status object or changes in the viewing angle of theobject, for example, in a way that mimics changes in the appearance ofphysical objects.

A physical display device (also referred to as a ‘physical display’, a‘physical display screen’ or a ‘physical screen’ herein) may include atelevision, a monitor, a computer screen, a laptop screen, a phonescreen, a tablet, a smartwatch screen or any other tangible outputdevice for the presentation of information in a visual form. FIG. 27illustrates examples of various physical display devices, consistentwith some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, thephysical display device may be included in a computer 2720, in a laptop2724, or in a phone 2728. Transferring virtual content to a physicaldisplay device may include relocating, transmitting, displacing,shifting, translating, or in any other way moving virtual content to thephysical display device. It may be desirable to transfer virtual contentto a physical device in order to view information presented in a virtualformat in a different size or perspective, or to separate a presentationof virtual content that is too cluttered for proper viewing. Forexample, the virtual content may include several documents presented ontop of one another or overlapping one another in some way. In thisexample, it may be desirable to transmit at least a portion of thatvirtual content, such as one of the documents, to a particular physicaldisplay device so that a user may view the information in that documentmore clearly. In another example, it may be desirable to transmit atleast a portion of a virtual content to a particular physical displaydevice so that other people, including people not using extended realityappliances or people not sharing the extended reality environment of theuser, may view the virtual content. FIG. 28 illustrates an example oftransferring virtual content to a physical display device, consistentconnection with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example,the virtual content 2716 may be a calendar that is transferred to aphysical display device included in laptop 2724.

Some disclosed embodiments may include presenting an extended realityenvironment in a room via a wearable extended reality appliance, thewearable extended reality appliance being configured to be paired withmultiple display devices located in the room, wherein each displaydevice is associated with a unique network identifier. Multiple displaydevices located in the room may include two or more of the physicaldisplay devices described above. The multiple devices may include avariety of different types of physical display devices or a plurality ofthe same type of physical display device. For example, the multipledisplay devices may include three phones in the room. In anotherexample, the multiple display devices may include one phone, onetelevision, and one laptop in the room. It may be desirable to providemultiple display devices in the room so that the user may have a choiceof ways in which to display the transferred virtual content, based onsize, compatibility, or other features that may make a particulardisplay device more appropriate for a given type of virtual content. Forexample, providing multiple display devices in the room including aphone, television, and laptop may allow a user to transfer virtualcontent better suited to each type of display device. The user maytransfer messaging content to the phone, documents to the laptop, andvideos to the television.

A unique network identifier may include a MAC address, IP address,address, domain name, code, serial number, name, mark, sign, character,emblem, token, or any other sequence of words, numbers, letters, orsymbols that indicate the identity of a display device. The uniquenetwork identifier may belong to or may be connected with one particulardisplay device. It may be desirable to use a unique network identifierso that communication is established with trusted devices withassociated recognized unique network identifiers, and to avoidcommunicating sensitive information with devices that the user may notrecognize. For example, a user of the wearable extended realityappliance may be in a room with many different types of display devices,and some of these display devices may not belong to the user or maybelong to other individuals. By using unique network identifiers, thetransfer of virtual content to a display device in that room may be moresecure since the user may only transfer virtual content to a displaydevice with a recognized unique network identifier. FIG. 27 illustratesexamples of various physical display devices, consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the computer 2720may be associated with unique network identifier “ID 1” 2722, the laptop2724 may be associated with unique network identifier “ID 2” 2726, andthe phone 2728 may be associated with unique network identifier “ID 3”2730.

Some disclosed embodiments may include receiving input associated withthe wearable extended reality appliance to cause presentation of aspecific virtual object in the extended reality environment on a targetdisplay device. Receiving input may include obtaining an indication froma user, sensor information, from a device external to the wearableextended reality appliance (for example, from an input device, such as akeyboard, paired with the wearable extended reality appliance, from acomputing device paired with the wearable extended reality appliance,and so forth), from a memory unit, from a database or a data-structure,or any other data or control signals by the at least one processor.Receiving input by obtaining an indication from the user may include anyuser interaction with any physical device configured to receive inputfrom a user (such as a keyboard, a touch sensor, a computer mouse, ahaptic glove, etc.) or from an environment of the user (for examplethrough an image sensor, an audio sensor, a volumetric sensor, and soforth), and to provide the data to a computational device. In oneexample, receiving input by obtaining an indication from the user mayinclude recognizing a gesture of the user (for example by analyzingimage data using a visual gesture recognition algorithm), recognizingvoice commands provided by the user (for example by analyzing audio datausing a speech recognition algorithm), and so forth. The data providedto the computational device may be in a digital format and/or in ananalog format. In one embodiment, the input device may store the inputreceived from the user in a memory device accessible by a processingdevice (e.g., the at least one processor), and the processing device mayaccess the stored data for analysis. In another embodiment, the inputdevice may provide the data directly to a processing device, forexample, over a bus or over another communication system configured totransfer data from the input device to the processing device. In someexamples, the input received by the input device may include keypresses, tactile input data, motion data, position data, direction data,image data, or any other data. Some examples of the input device mayinclude a button, a key, a keyboard, a computer mouse, a touchpad, atouchscreen, a joystick, a microphone, or another mechanism from whichinput may be received. Receiving input by obtaining sensor informationmay include acquiring data from a sound sensor, vibration sensor,acoustic sensor, chemical sensor, magnetic sensor, position sensor,optical sensor, image sensor, pressure sensor, force sensor, thermalsensor, proximity sensor, or any other device that detects events orchanges in its environment and sends the detected information to otherelectronics.

In some embodiments, the input may be received from a pointing deviceassociated with the wearable extended reality appliance. A pointingdevice may include a mouse, a touch screen, a joystick, a remote, or anyother human interface device that allows a user to input spatial data toa computer. For example, the pointing device may be a mouse that isconnected by either a wired or wireless connection to the wearableextended reality appliance.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include analyzing the input fromthe pointing device to determine a cursor drag-and-drop movement of thespecific virtual object on the target display device. A cursor mayinclude a pointer, arrow, text, or any other indicator used to show thecurrent position of user interaction on a display in response to inputfrom the pointing device. A cursor drag-and-drop movement may includeany movement associated with a pointing device in which the user selectsa virtual object and drags it to a different location. The virtualobject may be selected by clicking, highlighting, or hovering over thevirtual object using the pointing device. In FIG. 30, the virtualcontent 3010 includes virtual calendar 2716 and virtual clock 2718. Inthis example, a drag-and-drop movement of cursor 3018 is used totransfer the virtual clock 2718 to a target display device, for example,a computer 3016.

A target display device may include one of the multiple display deviceslocated in the room that is selected to be the physical device to whichthe virtual content is to be transferred. It may be desirable toassociate the input with the target display device so that the virtualcontent is only transferred to a physical display device that isintended or chosen by the user, rather than another of the multipledisplay devices that may not be appropriate for the type of virtualcontent being transferred. FIG. 27 illustrates examples of variousphysical display devices, consistent with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In FIG. 27, a user 2710 of a wearable extendedreality appliance 2712 is standing in a room with multiple displaydevices including computer 2720 with associated unique networkidentifier “ID 1” 2722, laptop 2724 with associated unique networkidentifier “ID 2” 2726, and phone 2728 with associated unique networkidentifier “ID 3” 2730. The virtual content 2714 presented to user 2710includes virtual calendar 2716 and virtual clock 2718.

FIG. 28 illustrates an example of transferring virtual content to aphysical display device, consistent with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In FIG. 28, the virtual calendar 2716 of the virtual content2714 including virtual calendar 2716 and virtual clock 2718 istransferred to the target display device, as caused by receiving inputfrom the user 2710, for example in the form of a pointing gesture.

Some disclosed embodiments may include receiving image data from animage sensor associated with the wearable extended reality appliance,the image data depicting the target display device. Receiving image datafrom the image sensor may include receiving the image data continuously,or at regular or irregular intervals. Continuously receiving the imagedata may be desirable when the user intends to transfer a plurality ofvirtual content items to one or more physical display devices. Forexample, when the virtual content includes a clock, a calendar, and adocument, continuously receiving the image data may be appropriate sothat the user may transfer one, some, or all of the virtual content toone or more physical display devices. Receiving the image data atintervals may be desirable when the user may only want to transfervirtual content during a specific period of time. For example, the usermay only want to transfer virtual content while at work. In such cases,receiving the image data only during working hours of the day may beappropriate so that the user may transfer virtual content at a time oftheir choosing without placing the burden of continuous receipt of imagedata on an associated processing system (e.g., the at least oneprocessor). In other examples, the image data may be received inresponse to a trigger. Some non-limiting examples of such triggers mayinclude receiving the input to cause presentation of a specific virtualobject in the virtual environment on a target display device, receivingan input from a user, entering a specific space (such as a room), and soforth.

Some disclosed embodiments may include analyzing the image data toidentify the target display device. Analyzing the image data may includeobject recognition, image segmentation, motion detection, videotracking, optical flow detection, or any other manner of extractinginformation from images acquired by the image sensor. For example, theprocessor may analyze the image data by performing object recognition onthe image data to determine when a target display device is detected.Such object recognition may be accomplished through edge matching,divide-and-conquer search, greyscale matching, gradient matching,histograms of receptive field response, or any other technique foridentifying objects in images or videos. In some examples, a machinelearning model may be trained using training examples to identifydisplay devices from images and/or videos. An example of such trainingexample may include a sample image and/or a sample video of a sampledisplay device, together with a label indicating the identity of thetarget display device. The trained machine learning model may be used toanalyze the image data and identify the target display device. In someexamples, a convolution of at least part of the image data may becalculated to obtain a result value of the calculated convolution. Inresponse to a first result value of the calculated convolution, a firstidentity of the target display device may be determined, and in responseto a second result value of the calculated convolution, a secondidentity of the target display device may be determined, the secondidentity may differ from the first identity.

In some embodiments, analyzing the image data to identify the targetdisplay device may include determining product visual characteristicsbased on the image data and comparing the product visual characteristicswith stored reference data to thereby determine an identity of thetarget display device. Product visual characteristics may include alabel, logo, emblem, symbol, tag, brand name, design, stamp, sticker,insignia, mark, size, aspect ratio, frame color, or any other visiblefeature associated with a specific product. Stored reference data mayinclude any information used to classify or categorize the productvisual characteristics or an identity of a display device. For example,the stored reference data may include data associating various logoswith specific display devices. In another example, the stored referencedata may include data associating various brand names with specificdisplay devices. The reference data may be provided by a user orgenerated by the processor. Using product visual characteristics andstored reference data to determine the identity of the target displaydevice may be desirable to automate the identification of the targetdisplay device, so that the processor may perform the identificationusing image processing instead of a manual identification by the userfor every display device in the room. For example, a target displaydevice may have product visual characteristics in the form of a logo onthe surface of the target display device. In this example, the imagedata may be analyzed to detect logos, for example using visual logorecognition algorithm, the processed logo data may be associated with adatabase of logos associated with various display devices, and theidentity of the target display device may be identified based on a matchin the database with the detected logo data. In another example, atarget display device may have product visual characteristics in theform of a display size and/or a display aspect ratio. In this example,the image data may be analyzed to determine the display size and/or thedisplay aspect ratio, for example based on the measurements of thetarget display device in the image data. The determined display sizeand/or display aspect ratio may be compared with a database of displaysizes and/or display aspect ratios associated with various displaydevices, and the identity of the target display device may be identifiedbased on a match in the database with the determined display size and/ordisplay aspect ratio.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include analyzing the image datato recognize content displayed by the target display device and tothereby determine an identity of the target display device. Contentdisplayed by the target display device may include one or more of asymbol, image, sentence, word, letter, shape, sign, or any other visualinformation that may be displayed by the target display device. Usingcontent displayed by the target display device may be desirable toautomate the identification of the target display device, so that theprocessor may perform the identification using image processing insteadof a manual identification by the user for every display device in theroom. For example, the target display device may be configured todisplay a message that states, “meeting room TV.” In this example, theprocessor may analyze the image data to recognize the message “meetingroom TV” to determine that the target display device is a televisionlocated in or associated with the meeting room.

In some embodiments, analyzing the image data to identify the targetdisplay device may include determining a position based on the imagedata and comparing the position with stored position data to therebydetermine an identity of the target display device. A position mayinclude a location, area, environment, point, room, geography, locale,region, setting, site, space, surroundings, angle, direction, or anyother indication of a way in which someone or something is arranged. Theposition may include a position of a user of the wearable userinterface, another individual, a target display device, another displaydevice, or any other object. Using a position may be desirable toautomate the identification of the target display device, so that theprocessor may perform the identification using image processing insteadof a manual identification by the user for every display device in theroom. For example, the image data may be analyzed to identify that thetarget display device is in a meeting room. In this example, the meetingroom information may be compared with stored position data thatassociates rooms with display devices to determine that the displaydevice is a meeting room display device, such as a television orcomputer, as opposed to a personal display device, such as a phone.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include detecting in the imagedata a visual code associated with the target display device andprocessing the visual code to determine the identity of the targetdisplay device. A visual code may include a QR code, barcode, textualcode, numerical code, specific visual pattern, or any other visibleindication of association with the target display device utilizing anycombination of letters, words, number, symbols, or images. Using avisual code to determine the identity of the target display device maybe desirable to automate the identification of the target displaydevice, so that the processor may perform the identification using imageprocessing instead of a manual identification by the user for everydisplay device in the room. For example, a target display device mayhave a visual code in the form of a QR code presented on the screen ofthe target display device. In this example, the image data may beprocessed to detect information in the QR code that associates the QRcode with a specific display device and this information may be used todetermine the identity of the target display device.

In some embodiments, the input may be received from the image sensorassociated with the wearable extended reality appliance. This type ofinput may be desirable in order to reduce the number of devices used totransfer the virtual content to the physical display device.Additionally, since the user would be wearing the wearable extendedreality appliance during the transfer, using the image sensor associatedwith the wearable extended reality appliance may ensure that the usercan direct the input depending on the direction in which the user isfacing.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include analyzing the image datato identify a gesture initiated by a user of the wearable extendedreality appliance that triggers a virtual collision between the specificvirtual object and the target display device. A gesture may include anyform of nonverbal communication in which bodily actions may be used tocommunicate. A gesture may include movement of the hand, fingers, leg,head, face, or other parts of the body. For example, a hand gesture mayinclude pointing, dragging, clenching, opening, pinching, sliding,twisting, or rotating using the palm, one or more of the fingers, or thehand. In one example, the gesture may include a dragging of the virtualobject to the target display device, a push the virtual object towardsthe target display device, and so forth. A virtual collision may includea contact, association, or any other encounter between the specificvirtual object and the target display device. In some instances, thegesture may trigger a full transfer of the virtual object to the targetdisplay device. In other instances, the gesture may trigger a transferof the virtual object to only a portion of the target display device.FIG. 29 illustrates an example of a user gesture for transferringvirtual content to a physical display device, consistent connection withsome embodiments of the present disclosure. In FIG. 29, the virtualcontent 2910 includes virtual calendar 2716 and virtual clock 2718. Inthis example, a user gesture 2918 of dragging the virtual clock 2718 toa target display device (i.e., computer 2916) triggers a virtualcollision between the virtual clock 2718 and the target display deviceby causing the virtual clock 2718 and the target display device to atleast partly be in a same common region of the extended realityenvironment.

Some disclosed embodiments may include upon identifying the targetdisplay device, determining a network identifier of the target displaydevice. Determining a network identifier of the target display devicemay include using the identity of the target display device to access adata-structure or a database associating display devices with networkidentifiers, and thereby obtaining the network identifier of the targetdisplay device. In other examples, the network identifier of the targetdisplay device may be an encoding or another simple transformation ofthe identifier of the target display device. In other examples,determining a network identifier of the target display device mayinclude scanning, examining, inspecting, or in any other way receivinginformation regarding a unique network identifier associated with aphysical display device. The network identifier may be determined usingan image sensor, a barcode reader, a magnetic stripe reader, or anyother device that is capable of detecting an identifier. For example, anetwork identifier associated with a physical display device may beencoded on a barcode or another visual code, and the barcode number maybe determined by using an image sensor to measure the intensity of lightreflected back by the white spaces within the unique pattern of parallelbars in the barcode. The network identifier may also be obtained byrequesting the target display device to transmit the identifier to theprocessor or the wearable extended reality appliance.

Some disclosed embodiments may include using the determined networkidentifier of the target display device to establish a communicationslink with the target display device. Establishing a communications linkmay include creating a communications channel that connects the targetdisplay device to at least one other device. The communications channelmay be either a wired communication channel or a wireless communicationchannel. A wired communication channel may utilize coaxial cables,Ethernet, or any other channel that transmits information over a wiredconnection. A wireless communication channel may utilize Wi-Fi,Bluetooth™, or any other channel that transmits information without awired connection. It may be desirable to establish a communications linkwith the target display device in order to ensure that information isonly being communicated on a recognized communications channel, whichmay improve user privacy. For example, establishing a communicationslink with the target display device may include creating a Bluetooth™ orother wireless communication links between the target display device andanother device so that the target display device and the other devicemay communicate wirelessly, allowing a wireless transfer of the virtualcontent to the target display device. Some non-limiting examples of suchestablished communication link may include at least one of acommunications link between the wearable extended reality appliance andthe target display device, a communications link between a computingdevice associated with the wearable extended reality appliance and thetarget display device, a communications link between a computing devicecoordinating the extended reality environment and the target displaydevice, a communications link between a computing device generating thevirtual object and the target display device, a communications linkbetween a computing device providing content for presentation to thewearable extended reality appliance and the target display device, andso forth. In FIG. 28, a determined network identifier “ID 2” 2726 oflaptop 2724 is used to establish a communications link 2832 with thetarget display device (i.e., laptop 2724).

In some embodiments, the communications link may be established betweenthe wearable extended reality appliance and the target display device.It may be desirable to establish the communications link between thewearable extended reality appliance and the target display device inorder to enable a direct connection between the two devices. This mayimprove the speed of transfer between virtual content presented on thewearable extended reality appliance to the target display device. Forexample, in FIG. 28, a wireless communications link 2832 may beestablished between the wearable extended reality appliance 2712 and thetarget display device in the form of laptop 2724.

In some embodiments, the communications link may be established betweena computing device associated with the wearable extended realityappliance and the target display device. A computing device may includea smartphone, keyboard, computer, or any other device that may be usedto accept inputs, process the inputs, and output information. It may bedesirable to establish the communications link between a computingdevice associated with the wearable extended reality appliance and thetarget display device in order to reduce a burden on an existingcommunications link between the wearable extended reality appliance andthe target display device, or in the case that the computing device isbetter located or equipped to form a communications link with the targetdisplay device. For example, in a large room, a wearable extendedreality appliance may be connected to a smartphone and may be located ata distance beyond the Wi-Fi range of the target display device. In thisexample, the smartphone may be located at a distance within the Wi-Firange of the target display device. In such an instance, a Wi-Ficommunications link may be established between the smartphone connectedto the wearable extended reality appliance and the target display devicebecause the smartphone may be better positioned to establish that Wi-Filink.

Some disclosed embodiments may include transmitting data representingthe specific virtual object to the target display device, wherein thetransmitted data enables the target display device to present thespecific virtual object. Transmitting the data may include communicatingthe data to the target display device using the establishedcommunications link. It may be desirable to use the establishedcommunications link in order to improve privacy by ensuring that arecognized communications channel is used to transfer the virtualcontent. Alternatively, transmitting the data may include communicatingthe data to the target display device using another communications link.It may be desirable to use another communications link to improve systemefficiency and speed by reducing the burden on a single communicationslink for several types of communication. In FIG. 28, data representingthe virtual calendar 2716 is transmitted to the target display device2724 through the communications link 2832, and the transmitted dataenables the target display device 2724 to present the virtual calendar2716.

In some embodiments, the specific virtual object may be a virtual screenplaying media content, and the transmission of the data may cause themedia content to be presented through the target display device. In oneexample, virtual screen (also referred to as a “virtual display” or a“virtual display screen” herein) may include any bounded shape orpresentation area, such as a rectangular window containing one or morevirtual objects. Other examples are described above. Media content mayinclude one or more of an image, data, text, sound, video, or any otherinformation or experience directed at an end-user or audience inpublishing, art, or communication. For example, the specific virtualobject may be a virtual screen playing a movie, and the transmission ofthe data may cause the movie to be presented through the target displaydevice. In some embodiments, the specific virtual object may be avirtual screen (also referred to as a “virtual display” or a “virtualdisplay screen” herein) displaying content generated by a graphicaloperating system, and the transmission of the data may cause the contentgenerated by the graphical operating system to be presented through thetarget display device. In one example, the graphical operating systemmay be paired with a physical keyboard, and text entered using thephysical keyboard may be presented in a word processing applicationrunning over the operating system and (at least previously) displayed onthe virtual screen. In this example, the transmission of the data maycause the word processing application running over the operating systemto be displayed on the target display device, and therefore may causetext entered using the physical keyboard to appear on the target displaydevice.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include determining that thespecific virtual object is classified as private, requesting apermission for displaying the specific virtual object through the targetdisplay device, and transmitting the data representing the specificvirtual object to the target display device only after receiving thepermission. Some disclosed embodiments may also include in response toreceiving a denial of the permission, avoiding transmitting theinformation. A private virtual object may include a virtual object thatis confidential, exclusive, secret, discreet, non-public, or in anyother way belonging to or for the use of one particular person or groupof people only. Transmitting the data only after receiving thepermission for a private virtual object may be desirable when a userdoes not wish to share the private virtual object (e.g., personalinformation) with the general public and may want to authorize eachrequest for the private virtual object to ensure that the user iscomfortable with sharing the information with a specific individual orgroup of individuals. For example, the specific virtual object may be abanking application of the user of the wearable extended realityappliance. In this example, the user's financial advisor may request apermission for displaying the banking appliance through a television ina meeting room consisting of the user and the financial advisor. Theuser may grant the permission since the financial advisor may be atrusted individual whom the user may trust with sensitive andconfidential financial information presented on the banking application.Thus, the data representing the banking application may be transmittedto the television. In another example, the user may be waiting in thesame meeting room for his financial advisor to arrive. In the meantime,if another individual that the user does not know requests permissionfor displaying the banking application through the television, the usermay deny the permission. In this example, the transmission of theinformation would be avoided in order to preserve the confidentiality ofthe user's financial information.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include determining that thespecific virtual object is classified as private, determining that thetarget display device is authorized for presenting the privateinformation, and in response to the determination that the targetdisplay device is authorized for presenting the private information,transmitting the data representing the specific virtual object to thetarget display device. A private virtual object may include a virtualobject similar to those described above. Transmitting the data inresponse to determining that the target display device is authorized forpresenting the private information may be desirable to ensure thatsensitive or confidential information is only presented on devices thatare capable of and appropriate for displaying such information. Forexample, the specific virtual object may be a banking application of theuser of the wearable extended reality appliance. In this example, thetarget display device may be a television in a meeting room of a bankassociated with the banking application. In such an instance, thetelevision may be determined to be authorized for presenting the bankingapplication, and in response to this determination, the datarepresenting the banking application may be transmitted to thetelevision, so that financial information may be presented in a displaydevice that is appropriate for the sensitive nature of the information.In another example using the same banking application, the targetdisplay device may be a computer in a living room of a friend whom theuser is visiting. In this example, the computer may be determined to notbe authorized for presenting the private information, and transmissionof the data representing the banking application to the computer wouldbe avoided in order to preserve the confidentiality of the user'sfinancial information, which the user may not want the friend to view.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include determining that thespecific virtual object is classified as private, analyzing the imagedata to determine presence of individuals other than a user of thewearable extended reality appliance exposed to the target displaydevice, in response to a determination of no individuals other than theuser exposed to the target display device, transmitting the datarepresenting the specific virtual object to the target display device,and in response to a determination of more than one individual isexposed to the target display device, avoiding transmission of the datarepresenting the specific virtual object to the target display device. Aprivate virtual object may include a virtual object similar to thosedescribed above. Individuals exposed to the target display device mayinclude individuals within a specific geographical range of the targetdisplay device, or individuals that may be able to view informationdisplayed on the target display device. Transmitting information to thetarget display device based on the absence of individuals other than theuser of the wearable extended reality appliance may be desirable toensure that the confidentiality of the user's sensitive information ispreserved by not presenting that information to individuals other thanthe user. For example, the specific virtual object may be a documentcontaining secret information that the user may not wish to share withothers, and the user may be standing in an office room, where the targetdisplay device is a computer. In this example, the image data may beanalyzed to determine whether other individuals are in the office room,and in response to a determination that no other individuals are presentin the office room, the data representing the document may betransmitted to the computer. Alternatively, the image data may beanalyzed to determine that someone else is in the office room, and inresponse to a determination of that other individual's presence in theroom, transmission of the data representing the document to the computermay be avoided, in order to preserve the confidentiality of theinformation in the document. In some examples, a machine learning modelmay be trained using training examples to determine presence ofindividuals exposed to display devices. An example of such trainingexample may include a sample image and/or a sample video of a sampleroom including a sample display device, together with a label indicatingwhether individuals in the sample room are exposed to the sample displaydevice. The trained machine learning model may be used to analyze theimage data and determine the presence of individuals other than a userof the wearable extended reality appliance that are exposed to thetarget display device. In some examples, the image data may be analyzedto detect persons in the room and to determine pose of the detectedpersons, for example using a visual person detection algorithm and avisual pose estimation algorithm. Further, the pose and location of aperson may be used to determine whether the person is exposed to thetarget display device, for example using ray casting algorithm involvingthe location of the eyes of the person (based on the determined pose).

Some disclosed embodiments may further include, after transmitting thedata representing the specific virtual object to the target displaydevice: determining that an individual other than the user is likely tobe exposed to the target display device; and in response to thedetermination that the individual other than the user is likely to beexposed to the target display device, causing the target display deviceto cease presentation of the specific virtual object. An individual thatis likely to be exposed to the target display device may include anindividual within a specific geographical range or proximity of thetarget display device, an individual that may be able to viewinformation displayed on the target display device, or an individualthat is in a location where they may soon be within the specificgeographical range of the target display device or be able to viewinformation displayed on the target display device. Causing the targetdisplay device to cease presentation of the specific virtual object mayinclude turning off the entire display of the target display device,removing the specific virtual object from the display of the targetdisplay device, or pixilating or blurring the virtual object to make itillegible. Ceasing presentation of the specific virtual object on thetarget display device in response to the determination that theindividual other than the user is likely to be exposed to the targetdisplay device may be desirable to continuously preserve theconfidentiality of sensitive information, even after an initialdetermination of an absence of other individuals is made. Continuingfrom the previous example where the data representing the document wastransmitted to the computer, the processor may determine after thistransmission that an individual other than the user is about to enterthe office room, making the individual likely to be exposed to thecomputer. In this example, the computer may be turned off, or thedocument may be removed from the display presented on the computer, inorder to preserve the confidentiality of the information in the documentin view of the individual that may soon enter the office room.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include causing the specificvirtual object to disappear from the extended reality environment oncethe specific virtual object is presented through the target displaydevice. Causing the specific virtual object to disappear from theextended reality environment after its presentation through the targetdisplay device may be desirable to reduce the processing burden on thesystem and the redundancy of displaying the same information on twodifferent modalities (e.g., physical display devices and one or morevirtual screens) at the same time. Causing the specific virtual objectto disappear from the extended reality environment may also reduce auser's visual confusion upon being presented with the same informationon two different displays, thereby allowing the user to better focus onthe information presented. For example, the specific virtual object maybe a movie, and presenting the movie through both the wearable extendedreality appliance and a target display device may cause confusion to theuser, and may not allow the user to understand the movie. In thisexample, the processor may cause the movie to disappear from theextended reality environment once the movie is presented through thetarget display device, in order to avoid user confusion.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include displaying via thewearable extended reality appliance a virtual indicator indicating thatthe specific virtual object is presented through the target displaydevice. A virtual indicator may include a color, pattern, shape, text,message, picture, symbol, or any other sign that that shows thecondition or existence of the specific virtual object being presentedthrough the target display device. It may be desirable to display thevirtual indicator via the extended reality appliance so that a user ofthe wearable extended reality appliance may be put on notice of thespecific virtual object being presented through the target displaydevice. This may be relevant in cases where the specific virtual objectwas accidentally transmitted to the target display device. For example,in FIG. 29, the virtual clock 2718 is the specific virtual object thatis presented through the target display device in the form of computer2916. In this example, the virtual indicator may be a greyed-out virtualclock 2920 displayed via the wearable extended reality appliance tosignal to the user of the wearable extended reality appliance that thevirtual clock 2718 is being presented through computer 2916.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include generating a virtualcontroller associated with the target display device, the virtualcontroller enabling modification of display parameters of the targetdisplay device. A virtual controller may include a clicker, remote,joystick, wheel, pad, button, or any other mechanism for controlling anyaudio or visual aspect of an extended reality display. Generating avirtual controller associated with the target display device may bedesirable to adjust a size, volume, angle, perspective, or any otheraudio or visual aspect of the target display device. For example, inFIG. 30, a virtual controller in the form of a remote 3020 is generated,wherein the remote 3020 is associated with the target display device inthe form of computer 3016. In this example, the remote 3020 may be usedto enlarge or reduce the size of the virtual clock 2718 presented oncomputer 3016 to enable a user to view the virtual clock 2718 better. Inanother example, the target display device may be a televisionpresenting a video with sound. In this example, a virtual remote may begenerated to control the volume of the television so that a user maybetter hear the sounds associated with the video presented on thetelevision.

After the target display device begins presenting the specific virtualobject, some disclosed embodiments may further include receivingadditional input, and modifying the specific virtual object on thetarget display device based on the additional input. The additionalinput may be received from the user or the processor. The additionalinput may be received from the user through interaction with a userinput device, such as a button, a key, a keyboard, a computer mouse, atouchpad, a touchscreen, a joystick, or another mechanism from whichinput may be received. The additional input may additionally, oralternatively, be received from the processor based on an automatedassessment of further modifications that may be appropriate for thespecific virtual object on the target display device. Modifying thespecific virtual object may include adjusting or changing one or more ofa size, angle, color, position, orientation, perspective, text, object,sound, or any other audio or visual aspect of the virtual object. It maybe desirable to modify the specific virtual object on the target displaydevice based on the additional input in order to allow a user to adjusta size of the virtual object to see it better, add text to a virtualdocument in order to complete work tasks, or in any other way change thevirtual object to better fit the needs or desires of the user. Forexample, the specific virtual object may be a movie window, and theprocessor may determine that the size of the movie window is too largeto fit entirely within a target television display. In this example, theprocessor may provide additional input to reduce the size of the moviewindow to fit within the screen of the television. In another example,the specific virtual object may be a document, and a user may provideadditional input by typing into a keyboard text to be added to thedocument. In this example, the processor may receive the additionalinput to add the typed text to the document.

After the target display device begins presenting the specific virtualobject, some disclosed embodiments may further include receiving anadditional input indicating a desire of a user of the wearable extendedreality appliance to stop presenting the specific virtual object throughthe target display device; and in response to receiving the additionalinput, causing the target display device to cease presentation of thespecific virtual object by the target display device. An additionalinput indicating a desire of the user of the wearable extended realityappliance to stop presenting the specific virtual object through thetarget display device may be received through interaction with a userinput device, such as those described above. Causing the target displaydevice to cease presentation of the specific virtual object by thetarget display device may include transmitting information configured tocause the target display device to stop displaying the content to thesystem controlling the physical display, halting transmission of data toa system controlling the target display device, or in any other waystopping the presentation of the specific virtual object on the targetdisplay device. Ceasing presentation of the specific virtual object bythe target display device in response to receiving additional inputindicating such a desire of the user may be desirable so that the usermay prevent others from viewing sensitive information, or if the user nolonger wants to view information on the target display device. Forexample, the specific virtual object may be a document and after atarget computer presents the document, the user may finish reading thedocument. In this example, the user may click a button to provideadditional input indicating that the user no longer wishes to presentthe document on the computer, and in response to receiving thisadditional input, data may be transmitted to a system controlling thecomputer to cease presentation of the document on the computer, sincethe user has finished reading the document.

In some embodiments, the additional input indicating the desire of theuser of the wearable extended reality appliance to stop presenting thespecific virtual object through the target display device may include anindication that the wearable extended reality appliance left the room.An indication that the wearable extended reality appliance left the roommay be provided through user input or sensor input. A user input may bereceived through interaction with a user input device, such as thosedescribed above. A sensor input may be received via data from a positionsensor, image sensor, proximity sensor, or any other device that maygenerate information indicative of the presence or absence of thewearable extended reality appliance in the room. It may be desirable tostop presenting the specific virtual object through the target displaydevice based on an indication that the wearable extended realityappliance left the room so that the processor is not burdened withpresenting information that the user is not able to view, and so thatothers may not view the information after the user has left the room.For example, the room may be a living room, and a position sensor mayprovide information indicating that the wearable extended realityappliance has moved to a dining room. In this example, the indicationthat the wearable extended reality appliance has moved to a dining roommay indicate the desire of the user of the wearable extended realityappliance to stop presenting the specific virtual object through thetarget display device in the living room, since the user is no longer inthe living room to view the presented information.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include, after ceasing thepresentation of the specific virtual object, receiving an indicationthat the wearable extended reality appliance reentered the room, andcausing a renewal of the presentation of the specific virtual object bythe target display device in response to the reentrance. An indicationthat the wearable extended reality appliance reentered the room may beprovided through user input or sensor input. A user input may bereceived through interaction with a user input device, such as thosedescribed above. A sensor input may be received via data from a sensor,such as those described above. It may be desirable to renew thepresentation of the specific virtual object through the target displaydevice in response to the reentrance in order to improve processingspeed by avoiding repeating the steps of receiving input associated withthe wearable extended reality appliance, receiving image data from theimage sensor, analyzing the image data to identify the target displaydevice, upon identifying the target display device, determining anetwork identifier of the target display device, using the determinednetwork identifier of the target display device to establish acommunications link with the target display device, and transmittingdata representing the specific virtual object to the target displaydevice. Continuing from the example of the living room above, afterceasing presentation of the specific virtual object, the position sensormay provide information indicating that the wearable extended realityappliance has reentered the living room. In this example, a renewal ofthe presentation of the specific virtual object by the target displaydevice may be caused in response to the reentrance, so that a user mayonce again view the specific virtual object without having to repeat theinitial steps.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include receiving additionalinput to cause presentation of content from a second display devicethrough the wearable extended reality appliance; receiving second imagedata from the image sensor, the second image data depicting the seconddisplay device; analyzing the second image data to identify the seconddisplay device; upon identifying the second display device, determininga network identifier of the second display device; using the determinednetwork identifier of the second display device to establish acommunications link with the second display device; receiving datarepresenting the content from the second display device; and displayingthrough the wearable extended reality appliance the content from thesecond display device. The second display device may include a physicaldisplay device, such as one of those described above. It may bedesirable to display through the wearable extended reality appliance thecontent from the second display device so that a user may view contentin a virtual space which is not limited by the constraints of a physicaldisplay device, such as size or perspective. For example, the user maypress a button to cause presentation of a movie from a second displaydevice, such as a phone, through the wearable extended realityappliance. In this example, the processing steps described above may beperformed so that the movie from the phone is displayed through thewearable extended reality appliance, so that the user may enlarge thesize of the movie for better viewability.

Some embodiments may include a method for transferring virtual contentto a physical display device. FIG. 31 is a flowchart of an exemplarymethod 3100 of coordinating virtual content display with mobilitystatus, consistent connection with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Method 3100 may include a step 3110 of presenting anextended reality environment in a room via a wearable extended realityappliance, the wearable extended reality appliance being configured tobe paired with multiple display devices located in the room, whereineach display device is associated with a unique network identifier.Method 3100 may include a step 3112 of receiving input associated withthe wearable extended reality appliance to cause presentation of aspecific virtual object in the extended reality environment on a targetdisplay device. Method 3100 may include a step 3114 receiving image datafrom an image sensor associated with the wearable extended realityappliance, the image data depicting the target display device. Method3100 may include a step 3116 of analyzing the image data to identify thetarget display device. Method 3100 may include a step 3118 of uponidentifying the target display device, determining a network identifierof the target display device. Method 3100 may include a step 3120 ofusing the determined network identifier of the target display device toestablish a communications link with the target display device. Method3100 may include a step 3122 of transmitting data representing thespecific virtual object to the target display device, wherein thetransmitted data enables the target display device to present thespecific virtual object.

Some embodiments may include a system for transferring virtual contentto a physical display device, the system comprising, at least oneprocessor configured to: present an extended reality environment in aroom via a wearable extended reality appliance, the wearable extendedreality appliance being configured to be paired with multiple displaydevices located in the room, wherein each display device is associatedwith a unique network identifier; receive input associated with thewearable extended reality appliance to cause presentation of a specificvirtual object in the extended reality environment on a target displaydevice; receive image data from an image sensor associated with thewearable extended reality appliance, the image data depicting the targetdisplay device; analyze the image data to identify the target displaydevice; upon identifying the target display device, determine a networkidentifier of the target display device; use the determined networkidentifier of the target display device to establish a communicationslink with the target display device; and transmit data representing thespecific virtual object to the target display device, wherein thetransmitted data enables the target display device to present thespecific virtual object.

When discussing physically presented visual content, it is useful tovisually indicate portions of the physically presented visual content,for example with hand gestures. When sharing virtually presented visualcontent among computers, for example in a video call, it is useful tovisually indicate portions of the virtually presented visual content,for example using a mouse cursor controlled by one user and visible tothe other user. However, when sharing content among extended realityappliances, the usage of a cursor to indicate portions of the contentmay be counterproductive, as it breaks the natural experience that theusage of extended reality appliances calls for. That is, it fails tomimic the experience of discussing physically presented visual content.It is therefore desire to allow visual indication of a portion of thecontent produced by a first user through natural hand gestures to bevisually available to a second user viewing the content using anextended reality appliance at a remote location. When the extendedreality is a mixed reality or an augmented reality, the position fromwhich the first user use the hand gesture to indicate the portion of thecontent may not be available for the second user, for example due todifferent layouts of the physical spaces of the two users (for example,the first user may stand at a location in relation to the content thatcorresponds to a wall in the physical space of the second user).Therefore, in some cases it is desired to adjust the visual indicationsto the physical environments of the users.

Disclosed embodiments, including methods, systems, apparatuses, andnon-transitory computer-readable media, may relate to simulating userinteractions with shared content. Shared content may include anyinformation communicated between two or more entities (e.g., users ordevices). For example, the shared content may include visual content,textual content, audio content, graphical content, virtual white board,virtual display screen, two-dimensional content, three-dimensionalcontent, animated content, inanimate content, live content, real-timecontent, Internet content, cinema content, television content, radiocontent, smartphone content, live events, physical objects, virtualobjects, or any other type of information. In some examples, the sharedcontent may be communicated between two or more wearable extended realtyappliances. For example, content (physical or virtual) viewed by a userof a wearable extended reality appliance may be transmitted to anotherwearable extended reality appliance for display to another user.

A user interaction may include any action associated with a user or anentity. For example, the user interaction may include a finger gesture,a hand gesture, an eye gesture, a mouth gesture, a face gesture, or anaction of one or more other parts of a person's body. As an example, theuser interaction may include any finger or hand motion, such as a drag,a pinch, a spread, a swipe, a tap, a pointing, a scroll, a rotate, aflick, a touch, a zoom-in, a zoom-out, a thumb-up, a thumb-down, atouch-and-hold, or any other action of a finger or hand. As anotherexample, the user interaction may include a location or movement of theattention (e.g., gaze) of a user. As another example, the userinteraction may include a sound (e.g., voice) of a user. Additionally oralternatively, the user interaction may include an action via an object(physical or virtual), such as a pen, an eraser, a pointer stick, alaser pointer, a cursor, or any other item.

Simulating user interactions may include, for example, generating anindication of a user interaction of a user to another user. In someexamples, a user may cause a user interaction (e.g., with particularcontent), and an indication of the user interaction may be transmittedfor display to another user. A simulated user interaction may be basedon a user interaction initiated by a user, and may be same as or similarto the initiated user interaction. In some examples, the simulated userinteraction may be different from the initiated user interaction. As oneexample, the initiated user interaction may include a hand gesture, andthe simulated user interaction may include a visual representation ofthe hand gesture. As another example, the initiated user interaction mayinclude a hand gesture, and the simulated user interaction may include avisual indication of a pointer. The simulated user interaction may haveone or more features same as or similar to the initiated userinteraction, such as a location of a user interaction relative tocontent interacted with, an orientation of a user interaction relativecontent interacted with, a motion of a user interaction, a texture of auser interaction, or any other characteristic of a user interaction.

Some disclosed embodiments may relate to simulating user interactionswith shared content, as described in greater detail herein. Users ofwearable extended reality appliances may automatically share userinteractions with shared content. For example, when a first user standsin front of a whiteboard (physical or virtual) and points to a specificpart of the whiteboard, a second user's wearable extended realityappliance may display a virtual representation of the whiteboard with avirtual indicator identifying the specific part of the whiteboard towhich the first user points, as described herein.

Some disclosed embodiments may include establishing a communicationchannel for sharing content and user interactions between a firstwearable extended reality appliance (WER-Appliance) and at least onesecond wearable extended reality appliance. A communication channel mayinclude any type of medium for transmitting data. A communicationchannel may include, for example, an IP (Internet Protocol) connection,a Wi-Fi connection, a WiMAX connection, a cellular connection (e.g., 2G,3G, 4G, or 5G), a Bluetooth connection, a near-field communication (NFC)connection, a low-power wide-area networking (LPWAN) connection, anEthernet connection, a power-line communication (PLC) connection, asatellite communication connection, a mobile network connection, aterrestrial microwave network connection, a wireless ad hoc networkconnection, or any other type of connection via a network. Thecommunication channel may be wired or wireless. In some examples, thecommunication channel may be via a personal area network, a local areanetwork, a metropolitan area network, a wide area network, a global areanetwork, a space network, a peer-to-peer network, or any other type ofcomputer network that may use data connections between network nodes.

In some examples, the communication channel may be established betweenthe first wearable extended reality appliance and the at least onesecond wearable extended reality appliance. For example, the at leastone processor may cause networking resources to be allocated for thefirst wearable extended reality appliance and the at least one secondwearable extended reality appliance, such as network addresses, portnumbers, or other types of networking configurations. In some examples,the at least one processor may execute processes that may be specifiedin network protocols (e.g., the transmission control protocol (TCP), theuser datagram protocol (UDP), or any other protocol). In some examples,the communication channel may be established between a centralize systemand each one of the first wearable extended reality appliance and the atleast one second wearable extended reality appliance. That is, in someexamples there may be no communication between wearable extended realityappliances that does not pass through the centralize system. Suchcentralized system may include one or more servers, a cloud platform, adistributed computing system, and so forth. Some non-limiting examplesof such centralize system may include a system that controls theextended reality environment, a system that provides virtual content forpresentation to the wearable extended reality appliances, and so forth.In one example, establishing the communication channel may includeadding an association of the first wearable extended reality applianceand the at least one second wearable extended reality appliance in adata-structure maintained by the centralize system. When data isreceived from the first wearable extended reality appliance for sharingwith other wearable extended reality appliances, the centralized systemmay access the data-structure to determine that the received data, orinformation based on the received data, needs to be shared with the atleast one second wearable extended reality appliance, and vice versa.

Content may be shared via the communication channel. The shared contentmay include any information communicated between two or more entities(e.g., users or devices). For example, the shared content may includevisual content, textual content, audio content, graphical content,two-dimensional content, three-dimensional content, animated content,inanimate content, live content, real-time content, Internet content,cinema content, television content, radio content, smartphone content,live events, physical objects, virtual objects, or any other type ofinformation. User interactions may be shared via the communicationchannel.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 3200 forsimulating user interactions with shared content consistent with someembodiments of the present disclosure. With reference to FIG. 32, instep 3210, instructions contained in a non-transitory computer-readablemedium when executed by a processor may cause the processor to establisha communication channel for sharing content and user interactionsbetween a first wearable extended reality appliance and at least onesecond wearable extended reality appliance.

FIG. 34, FIG. 35, and FIG. 36 are schematic diagrams illustratingvarious use snapshots of an example system for simulating userinteractions with shared content consistent with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure. With reference to FIG. 34, a first user 3414 using afirst wearable extended reality appliance 3418 may be present in a firstlocation 3410, and a second user 3416 using a second wearable extendedreality appliance 3420 may be present in a second location 3412. Acommunication channel (e.g., based on a link 3424, a network 3422, and alink 3426) may be established between first wearable extended realityappliance 3418 and second wearable extended reality appliance 3420.

Some disclosed embodiments may include transmitting to the at least onesecond wearable extended reality appliance, first data representing anobject associated with the first wearable extended reality appliance.The first data may enable a virtual representation of the object to bedisplayed through the at least one second wearable extended realityappliance. The object associated with the first wearable extendedreality appliance may include any item with which a user may interact.In some examples, the object associated with the first wearable extendedreality appliance may be a physical object, such as a whiteboard, ascreen, a lamp, a desk, a table, a vase, a container, a printer, ashelf, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchpad, a cup, a telephone, a mobiledevice, a machine, a vehicle, a door, a window, a chair, a button, asurface, or any other type of physical item. In some examples, theobject associated with the first wearable extended reality appliance maybe a virtual object, such as a virtual widget, a virtual screen, avirtual whiteboard, a virtual keyboard, a virtual touchpad, a virtualbutton, a virtual surface, virtual furniture, a virtual desk, a virtualchair, a virtual window, a virtual decorative object, a virtual vase, aninanimate virtual object, an animate virtual object, or any other typeof visual representation rendered by a computing device (e.g., awearable extended reality appliance) and configured to represent anitem. In one example, the first data may be transmitted from the firstwearable extended reality appliance to the at least one second wearableextended reality appliance. In another example, the first data may betransmitted from a centralized system to the at least one secondwearable extended reality appliance, for example in response toinformation received at the centralized system from the first wearableextended reality. The first data may be identical or different from theinformation received at the centralized system from the first wearableextended reality. Some examples of such centralized system are describedabove.

The first data representing the object associated with the firstwearable extended reality appliance may include any informationdescribing the object, such as textual data, imagery data (e.g.,two-dimensional), modeling data (e.g., three-dimensional), feature data,or any other type of desired information. The first data may enabledisplay of a visual representation of the object (e.g., by a wearableextended reality appliance). As one example, the first data may includedata of a three-dimensional model of the object and may enable awearable extended reality appliance to display a three-dimensionalvisual representation of the object. As another example, the first datamay include data of a two-dimensional image of the object and may enablea wearable extended reality appliance to display a two-dimensionalvisual representation of the object. In some examples, the first datamay indicate one or more features for the visual representation of theobject, such as a size, a color scheme, a texture, a location, anorientation, or any other characteristic. The one or more features forthe visual representation may be same as or similar to the one or morefeatures of the object, so that the visual representation of the objectmay be same as or similar to the object in terms of a size, a colorscheme, a texture, a location, an orientation, or any other feature.

At least one processor may determine (e.g., identify) the objectassociated with the first wearable extended reality appliance. In someexamples, the at least one processor may receive image data that may becaptured by image sensor(s) of the first wearable extended realityappliance. The image sensor(s) may be part of or separate from the firstwearable extended reality appliance. The at least one processor may usethe image data to identify the object (e.g., a physical object). Theimage sensor(s) may capture the image data of the scenes in front of(e.g., in the field of view of) the image sensor(s). When the object islocated in front of (e.g., in the field of view of) the image sensor(s),the captured image data may indicate the object. The at least oneprocessor may use image analysis algorithms to identify the object,and/or to determine the features (e.g., a size, a color scheme, atexture, a location, an orientation, or any other characteristic) of theobject. Based on the image data, the at least one processor may generatethe first data representing the object. For example, the at least oneprocessor may use one or more captured images to construct athree-dimensional model of the object. In some examples, theconstruction of the three-dimensional model may include classifying theobject into a category based on captured images, and adding, to atemplate three-dimensional model (e.g., predefined) for the determinedcategory, extracted features of the object (e.g., a size, a colorscheme, a texture, a location, an orientation, or any othercharacteristic). Additionally or alternatively, the construction of thethree-dimensional model may be based on three-dimensional scanningdevices (e.g., light detection and ranging (Lidar)), depth sensors, orrange imaging sensors of the first wearable extended reality appliance.As another example, the at least one processor may use one or morecaptured images to determine a two-dimensional representation of theobject. For example, the at least one processor may extract an imageryrepresentation of the object (e.g., based on an image captured from aparticular perspective).

In some examples, the at least one processor may receive data of theobject associated with the first wearable extended reality appliance(e.g., a virtual object). The object may be displayed by the firstwearable extended reality appliance. For example, the object may bedisplayed in a field of view of a display system of the first wearableextended reality appliance. The at least one processor may determine thefirst data based on the received data of the object (e.g., beingdisplayed by the first wearable extended reality appliance). In someexamples, the first data may be same as or similar to the received data,so that the object may be displayed in a same or similar manner by thefirst wearable extended reality appliance and the at least one secondwearable extended reality appliance to which the first data may betransmitted. In some examples, the first data may be a changed (e.g.,simplified or compressed) version of the received data. In someexamples, the object may be a three-dimensional virtual object virtuallydisplayed by the first wearable extended reality appliance and the firstdata may be configured to cause a display, via the at least one secondwearable extended reality appliance, of the three-dimensional virtualobject. In some examples, the first data may be configured to cause adisplay of the three-dimensional virtual object via the at least onesecond extended reality appliance in a size corresponding to a size ofthe three-dimensional virtual object displayed via the first extendedreality appliance. A size may include, for example, a height, a width, adepth, or any other measurement. In some examples, the first data may beconfigured to cause a display of the three-dimensional virtual objectvia the at least one second extended reality appliance with a feature(e.g., a color scheme, a texture, a location, an orientation, or anyother characteristic) corresponding to a feature of thethree-dimensional virtual object displayed via the first extendedreality appliance.

In some examples, the object may be a two-dimensional virtual objectvirtually displayed by the first wearable extended reality appliance andthe first data may be configured to cause a display, via the at leastone second wearable extended reality appliance, of the two-dimensionalvirtual object. In some examples, the first data may be configured tocause a display of the two-dimensional virtual object via the at leastone second extended reality appliance in a color scheme corresponding toa color scheme of the two-dimensional virtual object displayed via thefirst extended reality appliance. A color scheme may include, forexample, a choice of colors used in a design for creating style and/orappeal, or any other choice of colors. In some examples, the first datamay be configured to cause a display of the two-dimensional virtualobject via the at least one second extended reality appliance with afeature (e.g., a size, a texture, a location, an orientation, or anyother characteristic) corresponding to a feature of the two-dimensionalvirtual object displayed via the first extended reality appliance.

The at least one processor may transmit to the at least one secondwearable extended reality appliance (e.g., via the establishedcommunication channel), the first data representing the objectassociated with the first wearable extended reality appliance. The firstdata may enable a virtual representation of the object to be displayedthrough the at least one second wearable extended reality appliance. Thevirtual representation of the object may include, for example, anyvisual display rendered by a computing device (e.g., a wearable extendedreality appliance) and configured to represent the object.

With reference to FIG. 32, in step 3212, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to transmit to the at least one second wearableextended reality appliance, first data representing an object associatedwith the first wearable extended reality appliance, the first dataenabling a virtual representation of the object to be displayed throughthe at least one second wearable extended reality appliance.

With reference to FIG. 34, an object 3428 associated with first wearableextended reality appliance 3418 may be present or presented in firstlocation 3410. Object 3428 may include a physical object or a virtualobject. As one example, object 3428 may include a physical whiteboard,or a virtual whiteboard displayed by first wearable extended realityappliance 3418. At least one processor (e.g., associated with firstwearable extended reality appliance 3418 or with a centralized system asdescribed above) may determine first data representing object 3428, andmay transmit the first data to second wearable extended realityappliance 3420. The transmission of the first data may be via theestablished communication channel (e.g., based on link 3424, network3422, and link 3426). Second wearable extended reality appliance 3420may receive the first data and may, based on the received first data,cause display of a virtual representation 3430 of object 3428. Forexample, second user 3416 may view virtual representation 3430 viasecond wearable extended reality appliance 3420.

In some examples, the object may be an inanimate object physicallylocated in proximity to the first wearable extended reality appliance,and the first data may include a representation of the inanimate object.The inanimate object may include any physical item that may lack motion(e.g., may be motionless). The inanimate object may include, forexample, a whiteboard, a desk, a table, a vase, a container, a shelf, acup, a chair, a surface, or any other physical item that may lackmotion. The object associated with the first wearable extended realityappliance may be the inanimate object physically located in proximity(e.g., 0.1 meters, 0.5 meters, 1 meter, 2 meters, 3 meters, 5 meters, 10meters, or any other desired distance) to the first wearable extendedreality appliance. The representation of the inanimate object mayinclude any information describing the inanimate object, such as textualdata, imagery data (e.g., two-dimensional), modeling data (e.g.,three-dimensional), feature data, or any other type of desiredinformation.

In some examples, the first data may enable display of a virtualrepresentation of the inanimate object in a size corresponding to anactual size of the inanimate object. At least one processor may measurethe actual size (e.g., height, width, depth, or any other measurement)of the inanimate object, for example, based on image data captured by animage sensor associated with the first wearable extended realityappliance. In some examples, additional or alternative sensor(s) may beused to capture data (e.g., distance data, depth data, position data,orientation data, perspective data, or any other information) formeasuring the actual size of the inanimate object. In some examples,based on data captured by the sensor(s), the at least one processor mayconstruct a model (e.g., three-dimensional) of the inanimate object tohave a size corresponding to the actual size of the inanimate object.The first data may include information of a determined size of theinanimate object, and may enable display of a virtual representation ofthe inanimate object in a size corresponding to an actual size of theinanimate object. The virtual representation of the inanimate object mayinclude, for example, any visual display rendered by a computing device(e.g., a wearable extended reality appliance) and configured torepresent the inanimate object.

Some disclosed embodiments may include detecting changes associated withthe inanimate object, and transmitting third data representing thechanges to the at least one second wearable extended reality appliance.The third data may enable a virtual representation of the changes to bedisplayed through the at least one second wearable extended realityappliance. For example, at least one processor may, periodically orcontinuously, monitor the inanimate object to detect changes associatedwith the inanimate object. The monitoring may be based on, for example,image data captured by an image sensor and/or data captured by othersensor(s). For example, the at least one processor may compare a currentcaptured image of the inanimate object with a previous captured image ofthe inanimate object, and may detect changes associated with theinanimate object if a difference between the current and previouscaptured images of the inanimate object satisfies (e.g., meets orexceeds) a threshold. In some examples, the changes may includemarkings. For example, if the inanimate object is a whiteboard, thechanges may include writing on the whiteboard.

The at least one processor may transmit third data representing thechanges to the at least one second wearable extended reality appliance.The third data may include any information for describing the changes.The third data may enable a virtual representation of the changes to bedisplayed through the at least one second wearable extended realityappliance. The virtual representation of the changes may include, forexample, any visual display rendered by a computing device (e.g., awearable extended reality appliance) and configured to represent thechanges. In some examples, the third data may indicate the changes,which may be applied to a previous virtual representation of theinanimate object. In some examples, the third data may indicate arepresentation of the inanimate object with the changes, whichrepresentation may be displayed to replace a previous virtualrepresentation of the inanimate object.

Some disclosed embodiments may include receiving image data from animage sensor associated with the first wearable extended realityappliance. The image sensor may be part of or separate from the firstwearable extended reality appliance. The image sensor may be configuredto capture image data of the scenes in front of (e.g., in the field ofview of) the image sensor. The image sensor may, periodically orcontinuously, capture images and transmit captured images to at leastone processor. The at least one processor may receive the image datafrom the image sensor.

With reference to FIG. 32, in step 3214, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to receive image data from an image sensorassociated with the first wearable extended reality appliance.

Some disclosed embodiments may include detecting in the image data atleast one user interaction associated with the object. The at least oneuser interaction may include a human hand pointing to a specific portionof the object. The at least one user interaction associated with theobject may include any action associated with a user or the object(physical or virtual). The at least one user interaction may be directedto the object. In some examples, the at least one user interaction mayinclude a human hand pointing to a specific portion of the object. Thespecific portion of the object may include any location, point, area, orspace of the object. In some examples, the at least one user interactionmay include a finger gesture, a hand gesture, an eye gesture, a mouthgesture, a face gesture, or an action of other part(s) of a person'sbody, directed to the object. As an example, the at least one userinteraction may include any finger or hand motion associated with theobject, such as a drag, a pinch, a spread, a swipe, a tap, a pointing, ascroll, a rotate, a flick, a touch, a zoom-in, a zoom-out, a thumb-up, athumb-down, a touch-and-hold, or any other action of a finger or hand.As another example, the at least one user interaction may include alocation or movement of the attention (e.g., gaze) of a user on theobject. As another example, the at least one user interaction mayinclude a sound (e.g., voice) of a user associated with the object.Additionally or alternatively, the at least one user interaction mayinclude an action with the object via another object (physical orvirtual), such as a pen, an eraser, a pointer stick, a laser pointer, acursor, or any other item.

At least one processor may detect the at least one user interaction inthe image data received from the image sensor associated with the firstwearable extended reality appliance. For example, the at least oneprocessor may perform image analysis algorithms (e.g., gesturerecognition algorithms) based on the image data to detect the at leastone user interaction. The at least one processor may detect the at leastone user interaction, for example, based on a structure, a shape, apose, a position, a location, an orientation, or any other feature of ahuman hand (or other body part(s)) or a portion thereof. In someexamples, the detection of the at least one user interaction may bebased on additional or alternative sensor(s) associated with (e.g., partof or separate from) the first wearable extended reality appliance, suchas a depth sensor, a range imaging sensor, a haptic glove, a wiredglove, a data glove, a computer mouse, a touchpad, or any other deviceconfigured to capture information for detecting the at least one userinteraction. The detection of the at least one user interaction may bebased on one or more of various types of gesture recognition algorithms,such as algorithms based on three-dimensional models, skeletal-basedalgorithms, appearance-based models, or other types of algorithms forrecognizing gestures.

In some examples, the at least one user interaction may include a humanhand pointing to a specific portion of the object associated with thefirst wearable extended reality appliance. The specific portion of theobject may include any location, point, area, or space of the object.The at least one processor may determine the specific portion of theobject to which the human hand may be pointing. For example, if apointing end of the human hand (e.g., a tip of a pointing finger)touches on the object, the at least one processor may determine thespecific portion of the object to be the location where the pointing endof the human hand touches on the object. As another example, if apointing end of the human hand (e.g., a tip of a pointing finger) doesnot touch on the object, the at least one processor may determine thespecific portion of the object to be a location where a pointingdirection of the human hand as extended towards the object reaches theobject, to be a location where a pointing end of the human hand ismapped onto the object (e.g., the mapping of the pointing end may beperpendicular, approximately perpendicular, or in any other desiredangle to a nearby surface of the object), or to be any other desiredlocation determined based on the pointing human hand. Additionally oralternatively, the specific portion of the object may be determinedbased on, for example, eye tracking of the eye(s) of a user initiatingthe at least one user interaction. For example, the attention (e.g.,gaze) of the user determined based on the eye tracking may be used toconfirm or adjust a location of the specific portion of the object.

With reference to FIG. 32, in step 3216, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to detect in the image data at least one userinteraction associated with the object, the at least one userinteraction including a human hand pointing to a specific portion of theobject.

With reference to FIG. 35, first user 3414 may initiate a userinteraction 3510 associated with object 3428. User interaction 3510 mayinclude a human hand (e.g., of first user 3414) pointing to a specificportion of object 3428. At least one processor (e.g., associated withfirst wearable extended reality appliance 3418 or with a centralizedsystem as described above) may detect user interaction 3510, forexample, based on image data from an image sensor associated with firstwearable extended reality appliance 3418.

Some disclosed embodiments may include, based on the detection of the atleast one user interaction in the image data, transmitting to the atleast one second wearable extended reality appliance second dataindicating an area of the specific portion of the object. The area ofthe specific portion of the object may include, for example, an areawithin, surrounding, overlapping with, coextensive with, extendingbeyond, or otherwise associated with the specific portion of the object.In some examples, the area of the specific portion of the object mayinclude an area centered around a location to which a human hand maypoint. The area of the specific portion of the object may have anydesired size, color, shape, contour, visual effect, animation, or otherfeatures. The second data may include any information for describing thearea of the specific portion of the object. At least one processor maydetermine the area of the specific portion of the object, for example,based on the determined specific portion of the object. In one example,the second data may be transmitted from the first wearable extendedreality appliance to the at least one second wearable extended realityappliance. In another example, the second data may be transmitted from acentralized system to the at least one second wearable extended realityappliance, for example in response to information received at thecentralized system from the first wearable extended reality. The seconddata may be identical or different from the information received at thecentralized system from the first wearable extended reality. Someexamples of such centralized system are described above.

Based on the detection of the at least one user interaction in the imagedata, the at least one processor may transmit to the at least one secondwearable extended reality appliance the second data indicating the areaof the specific portion of the object. The at least one second wearableextended reality appliance may receive the second data and may, based onthe second data, cause display of an indication of the area of thespecific portion of the object. The indication of the area may bedisplayed in connection with the virtual representation of the objectdisplayed via the at least one second wearable extended realityappliance. A location of the indicated area relative to the virtualrepresentation of the object may be same as or similar to the locationof the specific portion relative to the object. The indication of thearea on the virtual representation of the object may simulate the atleast one user interaction with the object, and may show to a userassociated with the at least one second wearable extended realityappliance the at least one user interaction with the object. Theindication of the area on the virtual representation of the object maybe in any desired form, such as highlighting the area with any desiredcolor, displaying a virtual hand pointing to the area, displaying aparticular shape (e.g., a circle, a square, a triangle, or any otherdesired shape) covering the area, moving a cursor to the area, or in anyother manner for displaying the indication of the area.

Some disclosed embodiments may include transmitting the second data to aplurality of second wearable extended reality appliances. In someexamples, the transmissions of the second data may be configured tocause a displaying of differing virtual indicators by the plurality ofsecond wearable extended reality appliances. The differing virtualindicators may be in various desired forms, such as a cursor, a virtualhand, highlighting, a particular shape, or in any other form that servesto indicate. At least one processor may transmit the second data to theplurality of second wearable extended reality appliances. The pluralityof second wearable extended reality appliances may, in response toreceiving the second data, cause display of the differing virtualindicators. The differing virtual indicators may be pointing to or bedirected to the area of the specific portion of the object (e.g., asvirtually displayed via the plurality of second wearable extendedreality appliances).

With reference to FIG. 32, in step 3218, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to, based on the detection of the at least one userinteraction in the image data, transmit to the at least one secondwearable extended reality appliance second data indicating an area ofthe specific portion of the object.

With reference to FIG. 35, at least one processor (e.g., associated withfirst wearable extended reality appliance 3418 or with a centralizedsystem as described above) may, based on detecting user interaction3510, transmit to second wearable extended reality appliance 3420 seconddata indicating an area of the specific portion of object 3428 which thehuman hand of user interaction 3510 may point to. The transmission ofthe second data may be, for example, via the established communicationchannel (e.g., based on link 3424, network 3422, and link 3426). Secondwearable extended reality appliance 3420 may receive the second data andmay, based on the second data, cause display of an indication 3512 ofthe area of the specific portion. Indication 3512 may be displayed inconnection with virtual representation 3430 of object 3428, to simulateuser interaction 3510 with object 3428. Indication 3512 may be in a formof a circle covering the area of the specific portion. In some examples,indication 3512 may be in a form of a virtual hand pointing to the areaof the specific portion, or in any other desired form.

In one implementation, the detected at least one user interaction mayinclude a movement of the human hand. Some disclosed embodiments mayinclude identifying multiple parts of the object pointed to by the humanhand at a particular order in time, and causing a display of visualindications of the multiple parts via the at least one second extendedreality appliance at the particular order in time. The movement of thehuman hand may include any motion or action of the human hand. Forexample, the movement of the human hand may include moving the humanhand in a particular gesture (e.g., a pointing finger) along a surfaceof the object, changing the human hand from being in one gesture (e.g.,a pointing finger) to being in another gesture (e.g., a thumb-up), orany other motion or action of the human hand. As one example, the humanhand may be in the gesture of a pointing finger, and may move along asurface of the object to point to multiple parts of the object. At leastone processor may identify multiple parts of the object pointed to bythe human hand at a particular order in time (e.g., sequentially), forexample, based on image data captured by an image sensor and/or datacaptured by other sensor(s). The identified multiple parts of the objectmay have any desired interval between each other in terms of space ortime. For example, the identified multiple parts may sequentially bespaced apart by any desired distance (e.g., 0.1 cm, 0.2 cm, 0.3 cm, 0.4cm, 0.5 cm, 0.8 cm, 1 cm, 2 cm, 3 cm, 5 cm, 10 cm, or any other desireddistance). As another example, the identified multiple parts may becaptured at times that may sequentially be apart by any desired timeperiod (e.g., 0.1 seconds, 0.2 seconds, 0.3 seconds, 0.4 seconds, 0.5seconds, 0.8 seconds, 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, or any otherdesired time interval).

The at least one processor may cause a display of visual indications ofthe multiple parts via the at least one second extended realityappliance at the particular order in time. For example, the at least oneprocessor may transmit, to the at least one second extended realityappliance, a data stream indicating the identified multiple parts of theobject. For example, as the at least one processor identifies aparticular part of the multiple parts of the object, the at least oneprocessor may transmit, to the at least one second extended realityappliance, a data segment, of the data stream, indicating the identifiedparticular part of the object. As each one of the multiple parts of theobject may be sequentially identified and indicated in a data segment ofthe data stream transmitted to the at least one second extended realityappliance, the at least one second extended reality appliance may causedisplay of visual indications of the multiple parts at the particularorder in time (e.g., in connection with the displayed virtualrepresentation of the object). The visual indications (e.g., relative tothe displayed virtual representation of the object) may simulate themovement of the human hand (e.g., relative to the object). In someexamples, the simulation of the movement of the human hand may beupdated in real-time based on the movement of the human hand.

Some disclosed embodiments may include initially determining that thehuman hand pointing to the specific portion of the object belongs to auser of the first wearable extended reality appliance and causing afirst virtual indicator to identify the specific portion of the object;and subsequently determining that an additional human hand pointing tothe specific portion of the object belongs to an individual other thanthe user of the first wearable extended reality appliance, and causing asecond virtual indicator, different from the first virtual indicator, toidentify the specific portion of the object. Hand source recognition mayoccur in any one of a number of ways, or a combination of ways. Forexample, based on a relative position of the hand, the system maydetermine whether the hand is that of a user of the first wearableextended reality appliance. This may occur because hands of wearers mayhave an orientation in the field of view that may be a telltale signthat the hand is that of the wearer. Such telltale signs might includedetected finger orientation relative to an image sensor, or detection ofarms extending toward a general direction of the image sensor.Similarly, hands of individuals other than the wearer may have differingfinger orientations or may be detected as being associated with armsextending in a direction inconsistent with a direction associated with awearer. Such signs may be determined by performing image analysis on thecurrent hand image and comparing it with stored images or image dataassociated with orientations of hands of wearers. Similarly, hands ofpersons other than the wearer may have differing orientations and in asimilar manner to determining that a hand is one of a wearer of thefirst wearable extended reality appliance, the system may determine thata detected hand is of a person other than the wearer.

By way of another example, hands of differing individuals may differ.The system may recognize hands as being those of an extended realitydevice wearer (or even a particular individual), by examining uniquecharacteristics of skin or structure. Over time as a wearer uses thesystem, features of the wearer's hands may be stored in a data structureand image analysis may be performed to confirm that a current hand in animage is that of the wearer. In a similar way, hands of individualsother than the wearer may be recognized, enabling the system todistinguish between a plurality of individuals based on characteristicsof their hands. This feature may enable unique user interactionsimulation. For example, if multiple individuals interact with the sameobject, virtual indicators simulating the user interactions may varybased on the person interacting with the object.

At least one processor may determine whether a human hand interactingwith the object belongs to the user of the first wearable extendedreality appliance or another individual, for example, based on imagedata captured by an image sensor associated with the first wearableextended reality appliance. The at least one processor may analyze theimage data for hand identification, for example, by determining handfeatures based on the image data and comparing the determined handfeatures with stored features of a hand of the user of the firstwearable extended reality appliance. In some examples, the at least oneprocessor may perform hand identification based on particular objectsassociated with a hand (e.g., a particular ring for identifying a handof the user). In some examples, the hand identification may be based ondata captured by other sensor(s). The at least one processor mayinitially determine that the human hand pointing to the specific portionof the object belongs to a user of the first wearable extended realityappliance and cause a first virtual indicator to identify the specificportion of the object; and subsequently determine that an additionalhuman hand pointing to the specific portion of the object belongs to anindividual other than the user of the first wearable extended realityappliance and cause a second virtual indicator, different from the firstvirtual indicator, to identify the specific portion of the object. Thefirst virtual indicator and/or the second virtual indicator may bedisplayed, for example, by the at least one second wearable extendedreality appliance in connection with the displayed virtualrepresentation of the object. The first virtual indicator and the secondvirtual indicator may be different in terms of one or more of variousaspects, such as colors, shapes, textures, visual effects, animations,or other features.

In some examples, the object associated with the first wearable extendedreality appliance may be a three-dimensional virtual object virtuallydisplayed by the first wearable extended reality appliance and the firstdata may be configured to cause a display, via the at least one secondwearable extended reality appliance, of the three-dimensional virtualobject. Some disclosed embodiments may include detecting in the imagedata (e.g., received from the image sensor associated with the firstwearable extended reality appliance) an additional user interactionchanging an orientation of the three-dimensional virtual object forviewing from a particular perspective, and causing the at least onesecond wearable extended reality appliance to display thethree-dimensional object from the particular perspective. The detectingof the additional user interaction may be performed in a similar manneras the detecting of the at least one user interaction as describedabove. The additional user interaction may include any action that maychange the orientation of the three-dimensional virtual object, such asa rotate gesture, a drag gesture, a tap gesture (e.g., to activate afunction to change an orientation), a spread gesture, a click (e.g., viaa computer mouse or a touchpad), or any other action for changing anorientation. The particular perspective may include any desired anglefrom which the three-dimensional virtual object may be viewed. Theorientation of the three-dimensional virtual object may be measuredusing any desired method to represent orientations, such as the Eulerangles, the system based on yaw, pitch, and roll, or any other way formeasuring orientation. At least one processor may measure degree(s) ofchange of the orientation of the three-dimensional virtual object. Basedon the detecting of the additional user interaction, at least oneprocessor may transmit, to the at least one second wearable extendedreality appliance, data indicating the change of the orientation of thethree-dimensional virtual object. The data may include, for example,information of the measured degree(s) of change of the orientation ofthe three-dimensional virtual object. The at least one second wearableextended reality appliance may receive the data and may, based on themeasured degree(s) of orientation change (e.g., included in the data),adjust the orientation of the three-dimensional virtual object displayedvia the at least one second wearable extended reality appliance, so thatthe three-dimensional virtual object may be displayed via the at leastone second wearable extended reality appliance from the particularperspective.

Some disclosed embodiments may include receiving from the at least onesecond wearable extended reality appliance third data in response to adetection of a second user interaction with the virtual representationof the object. The second user interaction may include a second humanhand pointing to a particular portion of the virtual representation ofthe object. For example, at least one processor (e.g., associated withthe at least one second wearable extended reality appliance) may detectthe second user interaction with the virtual representation of theobject (e.g., in a similar manner as the detection of the at least oneuser interaction associated with the object as described above) and mayin response transmit the third data to the first wearable extendedreality appliance or to the centralized system as described above. Thethird data may indicate, for example, the detected second userinteraction and/or an area of the particular portion, of the virtualrepresentation of the object, which the second human hand may bepointing to. At least one processor (e.g., associated with firstwearable extended reality appliance or with a centralized system asdescribed above) may receive the third data from the at least one secondwearable extended reality appliance.

Some disclosed embodiments may include causing the first wearableextended reality appliance to display a visual indicator of a particulararea of the object corresponding to the particular portion of thevirtual representation of the object. For example, based on the receivedthird data, at least one processor (e.g., associated with first wearableextended reality appliance or with a centralized system as describedabove) may cause display of a visual indicator of a particular area ofthe object corresponding to the particular portion of the virtualrepresentation of the object. The particular area of the object may bein a location, relative to the object, that may be same as or similar toa location, of the particular portion of the virtual representation ofthe object, relative to the virtual representation of the object. Thevisual indicator may be in any desired form, such as highlighting theparticular area of the object with any desired color, displaying avirtual hand pointing to the particular area of the object, displaying aparticular shape (e.g., a circle, a square, a triangle, or any otherdesired shape) covering the particular area of the object, moving acursor to the particular area of the object, or in any other desiredmanner.

In some examples, the visual indicator of the particular area of theobject may include a virtual hand pointing to the particular area of theobject. The virtual hand may include, for example, any visual displayrendered by a computing device (e.g., a wearable extended realityappliance) and configured to represent a hand. In some examples, atleast one visual characteristic of the virtual hand may be selectedbased on the third data. The at least one virtual characteristic mayinclude a size of at least part of the virtual hand (such as a digit), acolor of at least part of the virtual hand, a ratio between sizes of twodigits of the virtual hand, a pose of the virtual hand, or any otherfeature of the virtual hand. In some examples, the third data may beindicative of a pose of the second human hand. The at least one visualcharacteristic may be based on the pose of the second human hand. Insome examples, the at least one visual characteristic of the virtualhand may be based on one or more features of the second human hand inthe second user interaction with the virtual representation of theobject. In some examples, the virtual hand may visually resemble anappearance of the second human hand in the second user interaction withthe virtual representation of the object.

Some disclosed embodiments may include causing the first wearableextended reality appliance to display a virtual shadow corresponding tothe virtual hand pointing to the particular area of the object. Avirtual shadow may take the form of an outline, a shape or a contour,and may simulate an appearance of an actual shadow. In some examples,the virtual shadow may include an area or shape that may be shaded ordark. The virtual shadow may be placed in a location, for example, basedon the lighting condition in the environment surrounding the firstwearable extended reality appliance to simulate how a shadow mightactually appear if an actual hand were pointing. For example, thevirtual shadow may be placed in a location where a natural shadow mayappear based on the lighting condition if the virtual hand were aphysical hand. In some examples, the virtual shadow may have a shape, acolor, or any other characteristic that may be same as or similar tosuch a natural shadow.

In some examples, the visual indicator of the particular area of theobject may include a change to a visual appearance of the particulararea of the object. For example, the change to the visual appearance ofthe particular area of the object may include a change to a colorscheme, a change to a brightness, a change to a texture, a change to ashape, or a change to any other feature, of the particular area of theobject.

With reference to FIG. 36, second user 3416 may initiate a second userinteraction 3610 with virtual representation 3430 of object 3428. Seconduser interaction 3610 may include a second human hand (e.g., a hand ofsecond user 3416) pointing to a particular portion of virtualrepresentation 3430 of object 3428. Second wearable extended realityappliance 3420 may detect second user interaction 3610 (e.g., based onimage data captured by an image sensor and/or data captured by othersensor(s)) and may transmit third data to first wearable extendedreality appliance 3418. The transmission of the third data may be, forexample, via the established communication channel (e.g., based on link3424, network 3422, and link 3426). In another example, a centralizedsystem may transmit the third data to first wearable extended realityappliance 3418, for example based on information received at thecentralized system from second wearable extended reality appliance 3420,for example as described above. The third data may indicate second userinteraction 3610 and/or an area of the particular portion, of virtualrepresentation 3430, which the second human hand may be pointing to.First wearable extended reality appliance 3418 may receive the thirddata and may in response cause display of a visual indicator 3612 of aparticular area of object 3428 corresponding to the particular portionof virtual representation 3430. Visual indicator 3612 may include avirtual hand, and may be displayed to first user 3414 via first wearableextended reality appliance 3418.

Some disclosed embodiments may relate to simulating user interactionswith shared content, including methods, systems, apparatuses, andnon-transitory computer-readable media. Some disclosed embodiments mayinclude establishing a communication channel for sharing content anduser interactions between a first wearable extended reality applianceand a second wearable extended reality appliance. For example, at leastone processor may cause establishing of a communication channel forsharing content and user interactions between a first wearable extendedreality appliance and a second wearable extended reality appliance, asdescribed herein. FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplaryprocess 3300 for simulating user interactions with shared contentconsistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Withreference to FIG. 33, in step 3310, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to establish a communication channel for sharingcontent and user interactions between a first wearable extended realityappliance and a second wearable extended reality appliance.

Some disclosed embodiments may include receiving, from the firstwearable extended reality appliance, first data representing an objectassociated with the first wearable extended reality appliance. The firstdata may enable a virtual representation of the object to be displayedthrough the second wearable extended reality appliance. For example, atleast one processor (e.g., associated with the second wearable extendedreality appliance or with the centralized system as described above) mayreceive, from the first wearable extended reality appliance, first datarepresenting an object associated with the first wearable extendedreality appliance, as described herein. With reference to FIG. 33, instep 3312, instructions contained in a non-transitory computer-readablemedium when executed by a processor may cause the processor to receive,from the first wearable extended reality appliance, first datarepresenting an object associated with the first wearable extendedreality appliance, the first data enabling a virtual representation ofthe object to be displayed through the second wearable extended realityappliance.

Some disclosed embodiments may include outputting for presentation viathe second wearable extended reality appliance first display signalsreflective of the virtual representation of the object. For example, atleast one processor (e.g., associated with the second wearable extendedreality appliance or with the centralized system as described above) maycause output, for presentation via the second wearable extended realityappliance, of first display signals reflective of the virtualrepresentation of the object, as described herein. The first displaysignals may include any visible radiation that may be output by adisplay system associated with a wearable extended reality appliance,such as an optical head-mounted display, a monocular head-mounteddisplay, a binocular head-mounted display, a see-through head-mounteddisplay, a helmet-mounted display, or any other type of deviceconfigured to show images to a user. In some examples, the displaysystem may reflect the first display signals (e.g., projected images)and to allow a user to see through the display system. In some examples,the first display signals may be based on waveguide techniques,diffraction optics, holographic optics, polarized optics, reflectiveoptics, or other types of techniques for combining images projected by acomputing device and optical signals emanated from physical objects. Atleast one processor (e.g., associated with the second wearable extendedreality appliance or with the centralized system as described above) mayoutput for presentation via the second wearable extended realityappliance the first display signals reflective of the virtualrepresentation of the object. The output of the first display signalsmay cause display of the virtual representation of the object to a user.

With reference to FIG. 33, in step 3314, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to output for presentation via the second wearableextended reality appliance first display signals reflective of thevirtual representation of the object.

Some disclosed embodiments may include receiving, from the firstwearable extended reality appliance, second data representing at leastone user interaction associated with the object. The at least one userinteraction may include a human hand pointing to a specific portion ofthe object. For example, at least one processor (e.g., associated withthe second wearable extended reality appliance or with the centralizedsystem as described above) may receive, from the first wearable extendedreality appliance, second data representing at least one userinteraction associated with the object, as described herein. Withreference to FIG. 33, in step 3316, instructions contained in anon-transitory computer-readable medium when executed by a processor maycause the processor to receive, from the first wearable extended realityappliance, second data representing at least one user interactionassociated with the object, the at least one user interaction includinga human hand pointing to a specific portion of the object.

Some disclosed embodiments may include outputting for presentation viathe second wearable extended reality appliance second display signalsvisually indicating an area of the specific portion. For example, atleast one processor (e.g., associated with the second wearable extendedreality appliance or with the centralized system as described above) maycause output, for presentation via the second wearable extended realityappliance, of second display signals visually indicating an area of thespecific portion, as described herein. The visual indicator of the areaof the specific portion may be in any desired form, as described herein.The visual indicator may be displayed in connection with the displayedvirtual representation of the object. With reference to FIG. 33, in step3318, instructions contained in a non-transitory computer-readablemedium when executed by a processor may cause the processor to outputfor presentation via the second wearable extended reality appliancesecond display signals visually indicating an area of the specificportion.

Some disclosed embodiments may include, following receipt of the seconddata, continuously receiving information from the first wearableextended reality appliance and continuously updating the second data tothereby cause a visual representation of the area of the specificportion to cease when the at least one user interaction including thehuman hand pointing to the specific portion of the object is no longerdetected. For example, the first wearable extended reality appliance mayperiodically or continuously monitor the at least one user interactionand may transmit, to the second wearable extended reality appliance, adata stream of updated state(s) of the at least one user interaction asmonitored. The second wearable extended reality appliance may receivethe data stream and may, based on the data stream, update the visualindicator simulating the at least one user interaction (e.g., in termsof a location, an orientation, a shape, a color, or any other feature).When the at least one user interaction is no longer detected, the firstwearable extended reality appliance may transmit, to the second wearableextended reality appliance, an indication that the at least one userinteraction is no longer detected. Based on receiving the indication,the second wearable extended reality appliance may cause a visualrepresentation of the area of the specific portion to cease (e.g., thevisual representation of the area of the specific portion may be removedfrom the displayed virtual representation of the object).

In some examples, the second data may be reflective of multiple humanhands pointing to multiple parts of the object during a time period, andthe second display signals may be configured to visually indicating aplurality of areas corresponding to the multiple parts of the object.The multiple human hands may belong to one person, or multiple persons.In some examples, the multiple human hands may include two hands of auser of the first wearable extended reality appliance. In some examples,the multiple human hands may include hand(s) of the user of the firstwearable extended reality appliance, and/or hand(s) of person(s) otherthan the user of the first wearable extended reality appliance. The timeperiod may include any length of time, such as 0.5 seconds, 1 second, 2seconds, 3 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 120seconds, other any other time interval. The visual indicators of theplurality of areas may be displayed in connection with the displayedvirtual representation of the object, and may be configured to simulatethe interactions of the multiple human hands with the multiple parts ofthe object. In some embodiments, the second display signals may beconfigured to cause differentiated indicators of the plurality of areasto be displayed via the second wearable extended reality appliance. Thedifferentiated indicators may differ in terms of one or more of variousaspects, such as colors, shapes, textures, visual effects, animations,or other features.

In some embodiments, the first data may include information on anenvironment of the object from a perspective of the first wearableextended reality appliance. Some disclosed embodiments may includeconfiguring the first display signals to cause via the second wearableextended reality appliance, a presentation of the object located inproximity to the first wearable extended reality appliance correspondingto the perspective of the first wearable extended reality appliance. Forexample, the first wearable extended reality appliance may measure aposition and/or orientation of the object relative to the first wearableextended reality appliance. The measuring may be based on data capturedby one or more of an image sensor, a distance sensor, a depth sensor, arange imaging sensor, or any other sensor configured to captureinformation for measuring a position and/or orientation of the object.The measured position and/or orientation may be included in the firstdata, and may be transmitted to the second wearable extended realityappliance. The second wearable extended reality appliance may, based onthe measured position and/or orientation of the object relative to thefirst wearable extended reality appliance, display the virtualrepresentation of the object to be from a perspective same as or similarto the perspective of the first wearable extended reality appliance. Insome examples, the environment of the object (e.g., physical or virtualspace surrounding the object) may be captured, and the information maybe transmitted to the second wearable extended reality appliance. Basedon receiving the information, the second wearable extended realityappliance may cause display of the virtual representation of the objectto have a relationship, with the surrounding environment of the virtualrepresentation, that may be same as or similar to the relationship ofthe object with the surrounding environment of the object (e.g.,distances of the object to a nearby wall, nearby furniture, the floor,or other items in the environment).

Some disclosed embodiments may include receiving image data from animage sensor associated with the second wearable extended realityappliance, detecting in the image data a structure that preventsdisplaying the virtual representation of the object in the mannercorresponding to the perspective of the first wearable extended realityappliance: and, upon detecting the structure, determining an alternativedisplay of the virtual representation of the object, the alternativedisplay presenting the virtual representation of the object from aperspective differing from the perspective of the first wearableextended reality appliance. The structure may include any item (physicalor virtual) that may be in such a position and/or orientation that itmay occupy (physically or virtually) the space (or a portion thereof)where the displayed virtual representation of the object may be located(e.g., when displayed from a perspective same as or similar to theperspective of the first wearable extended reality appliance). At leastone processor may identify the structure, for example, based on analysisof the image data received from the image sensor. In some examples, theidentification of the structure may be based on data captured by one ormore of a distance sensor, a depth sensor, a range imaging sensor, orany other sensor. The at least one processor may determine thealternative display of the virtual representation of the object, forexample, by identify a location, in the environment of the secondwearable extended reality appliance, where there may not be such anobstructing structure, or by identify an orientation, of the virtualrepresentation of the object, that may allow the virtual representationof the object to fit in at its current location. The alternative displaymay be implemented, for example, using the identified location ororientation. The alternative display may present the virtualrepresentation of the object from a perspective differing from theperspective of the first wearable extended reality appliance.

Some disclosed embodiments may include adjusting a display of a virtualindicator to point to the specific portion of the object from theperspective associated with the alternative display. For example, atleast one processor may adjust the location and/or orientation of thevirtual indicator, in a similar manner as the virtual representation ofthe object. The adjusting of the virtual indicator may be such that thelocation and/or orientation of the virtual indicator relative to thevirtual representation of the object may simulate the location and/ororientation of the at least one user interaction relative to the object.

In some embodiments, methods, systems, and non-transitory computerreadable media for simulating visual pointers over shared content may beprovided. In some examples, an indication that a first user and a seconduser are watching two replicas of the same computer window may bereceived. Further, an indication that the first user physically pointsto a first element of the computer window may be received. Further, avisual pointer pointing at the first element may be caused to bedisplayed to the second user. In one example, the first user may watchthe replica of the computer window on a physical display and the seconduser may watch the replica of the computer window on a virtual display.In another example, the first user may watch the replica of the computerwindow on a virtual display and the second user may watch the replica ofthe computer window on a physical display. In yet another example, bothusers may watch the replica of the computer window on physical displays.In an additional example, both users may watch the replica of thecomputer window on virtual displays. In one example, such virtualdisplay may be part of an augmented reality environment. In anotherexample, such virtual display may be part of a virtual realityenvironment.

In some examples, the indication that the first user physically pointsto the first element of the computer window may be based on an analysisof an image of the first user (such as an image captured by a wearablesystem used by the first user, or an image captured by a fixed camerapositioned in the room). In some examples, the indication that the firstuser physically points to the first element of the computer window maybe an indication that the first user is using a gesture to point to thefirst element of the computer window. For example, the gesture may beusing a finger to point at the first element. In some examples, thevisual pointer pointing at the first element may be a two-dimensionaloverlay over the content of the computer window. In some examples, thevisual pointer pointing at the first element may be a two-dimensionalvisual pointer displayed outside the computer window, for example, usingan augmented reality system used by the second user, or using a virtualreality system used by the second user. In some examples, the visualpointer pointing at the first element may be a three-dimensional visualpointer displayed outside the computer window, for example, using anaugmented reality system used by the second user, or using a virtualreality system used by the second user. For example, thethree-dimensional visual pointer may be a representation of a hand ormay be a representation of an arrow.

Allowing anyone to place virtual content anywhere in a shared extendedreality environment may cause virtual content clutter and abuses such asplacement of promotional content or undesirable content in inappropriatelocations. Aspects of this disclosure that follows describe ways forapplying location-based restrictions to manage content placement inextended reality environments.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve systems, methods, andnon-transitory computer readable media configured for managing contentplacement in extended reality environments. The term “managing contentplacement” may refer to using one or more rules that govern where usersmay place content in an extended reality environment. These rules mayinclude permissions as to where to place virtual content and may bebased on a variety of different parameters, such as time, location,size, or virtual content type. In some embodiments, virtual content mayinclude any two-dimensional or three-dimensional representation of data.The virtual content may be inanimate or animate, and/or may be public orprivate. Public content may be visible to all wearable extended realityappliance users registered to a certain a shared extended realityenvironment, whereas private content may only be visible to a limitednumber of users whose appliances are registered to the certain a sharedextended reality environment.

In some embodiments, the managing of the content placement may involveapplying rules that may vary between different types of users. Forexample, some rules may limit where an individual user may presentvirtual content. Other rules may enable expanded freedom to a userassociated with a corporate entity to present virtual content in certainplaces, including office buildings, client offices, or public locationsassociated with or advertising the entity's services. The rules formanaging content placement may also vary between public and privatelocations, i.e., there may be different rules for presenting virtualcontent in private places, such as user's home or office, compared topublic places, such as a public park, a city street, a town square, aretail establishment, or any other public or semi-public space.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve receiving a request from anentity to place a virtual content at a specific geographic location inat least one shared extended reality environment that includes aplurality of virtual objects. The term “entity” may refer to anindividual, artificial intelligence (AI) software, an organization, aprofessional office, a service provider, a company, a corporation,partnership, or other individual, group or mechanism capable of making arequest. In one example, the entity associated with the request may be asingle wearable extended reality appliance user. However, the entity maynot be limited a user of a wearable extended reality appliance; it mayinclude virtual entities such as an AI software, or human users of othertypes of computerized devices. In one embodiment, the request from theentity may be a signal sent from the at least one processor associatedwith a non-transitory computer readable medium as part of the wearableextended reality appliance. In another embodiment, the request signalmay be sent from the at least one processor associated with the entity.In some examples, receiving the request may include at least one ofreading the request from a memory unit, receiving the request from anexternal device, receiving the request from a user (for example, via auser interface), or determining the request by analyzing data (such asdata captured using one or more sensors, data read from memory, and/ordata received from an external device).

The specific geographic location identified in the request may beselected by the entity and may refer to a physical point or region onEarth identifiable utilizing any descriptor, metric or characteristic.For example, the geographic location may be represented as a combinationof longitude/latitude, a street address, a room in an office, aconference hall, an area defined by a code, or any other identifiableplace. The specific geographic location may include any surface on whichvirtual content may be presented. In some examples, the specificgeographic location may include a screen, a billboard, a window, a wall,and/or other location that is conducive for displaying virtual content.The specific geographic location may be located in a myriad of differentplaces. For example, a specific geographic area may host content in atown square, a wall or window in an office building, a public transmitarea, or any other public or private place, subject to restrictions. Thespecific geographic location may be able to accommodate more than onevirtual object at a time, depending on the virtual content display size.As described elsewhere in this specification, the specific geographiclocation may also vary in size depending on the type of the virtualcontent and where the virtual content is presented, such as in an officebuilding conference room, a town square or park, or auditorium. Forexample, a specific geographic location in an office building conferenceroom may only be able to accommodate one or two virtual objects at onetime, but a specific geographic location in a public park may be able toaccommodate more than three or four objects at the same time.

As mentioned, the specific geographic location may be either public orprivate. If public, most if not all users may be able to view and accessthe presented content. For example, a specific geographic location maybe a public park, a town square, a public transit station, a billboardon a highway, supermarkets or grocery stores, and/or other locationsthat are open to the public. A specific geographic location may also bein private location, i.e., a location that is not open to the public.For example, such a specific geographic location may be a conferenceroom in an office building, a shared working space, and/or a school oruniversity.

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, the plurality of virtual objectsmay be viewable by a plurality of wearable extended reality appliancesregistered to the at least one shared extended reality environment. Theterm shared extended reality environment may refer to a commoncomputer-generated perceptual surrounding. The shared extended realityenvironment may be a completely simulated virtual environment or acombined real-and-virtual environment wherein multiple users mayperceive common content from different perspectives (or in someembodiments, from a common perspective). In one example, multiple sharedextended reality environments may coexist in the same physical space,and a user of a wearable extended reality appliance may select whichextended reality environments to view and interact with at the physicalspace by registering to the desired extended reality environments. Inone example, multiple wearable extended reality appliance usersregistered to the extended reality environment may view the same contentavailable in the extended reality environment. In some embodiments, thewearable extended reality appliance users may be all in a similarlocation, and thus their experiences may be shared. A wearable extendedreality appliance user may register the appliance to multiple sharedextended reality environments. Registering to a shared extended realityenvironment may refer to initially interacting with one or more sharedextended reality environments, i.e., public or private shared extendedreality environments. A user may register his or her appliance to one ormore extended reality environments and may switch between theenvironments by adjusting settings on the wearable extended realityappliance. For example, a user may register to a public shared extendedreality environment and may also register to multiple private sharedextended reality environments. In one example, a single location, e.g.,a room may be associated with content of multiple shared extendedreality environments. Accordingly, a first wearable extended realityappliance may display a first set of virtual objects based on the sharedextended reality environments to which the first wearable extendedreality appliance is currently registered, and a second wearableextended reality appliance may display a second set of virtual objects(that may be different from the first set of virtual objects) based onthe shared extended reality environments to which the second wearableextended reality appliance is currently registered. Registration mayoccur automatically when an extended reality appliance is in proximityto a location associated with an extended reality environment.Regardless of how registered, in some embodiments, returning to alocation associated with an extended reality environment may cause anextended reality appliance to recognize the associated extended realityenvironment.

In one embodiment, a public shared extended reality environment may bean extended reality environment that is free and open to most if not allusers. The public shared extended reality environment may be akin to apublic communication network, where entities may place virtual content,such as personal posts or advertisements. However, a user mayselectively turn off the public shared extended reality environment ifthe user wishes to access one or more private shared extended realityenvironments, such as an office environment, family home, and/or schoolor university environment (i.e., an education space-based sharedextended reality environment). An extended reality appliance user mayregister and connect to one shared extended reality environment or mayregister to a plurality of shared extended reality environments.Specifically, in the office environment example, only colleagues in theworkplace may be able to access the shared extended reality environment.In a family home example, only family members may be able to access theshared extended reality environment. In the education space example,only students, instructors, and associated staff may access the sharedextended reality environment. Such restrictions may be implementedthrough permissions, such as permissions granted by an administrator ofa particular shared extended reality environment.

In the previously described private shared extended reality spaceexamples, the specified geographical location where virtual content maybe presented may be a wall or window in an office conference room, awall, TV screen, or window in a private home, a whiteboard, chalkboard,blackboard, or projector screen in a classroom, and/or other locationswhich are visible to users whose wearable extended reality appliancesare registered to the private shared extended reality environment.

By way of example, FIG. 37A depicts a specific geographical locationwhere virtual content may be displayed. FIG. 37A shows a location 3710,here, a conference room in an office building, where virtual content maybe placed to be viewed by other wearable extended reality applianceusers 3712. In FIG. 37A, one or more of the users may have notregistered to the public extended reality environment, where virtualcontent may be presented by outside entities. In FIG. 37B, a user ofwearable extended reality appliance 3714 in location 3710 may beregistered to a public extended realty environment. Thus, virtualcontent, such as advertisements 3716, may be visible to the user ofwearable extended reality appliance 3714 and other users 3712 in theconference room.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include using input from awearable extended reality appliance used by the entity to determine thespecific geographic location. In one example, the input from thewearable extended reality appliance may include positioning datacaptured using a positioning sensor included in the wearable extendedreality environment (such as a global positioning sensor, an outdoorpositioning sensor, an indoor positioning sensor, or any otherpositioning sensors as described above), and the specific geographiclocation may be immediately determined from the positioning data. In oneexample, image data captured using an image sensor included in thewearable extended reality appliance may be received. Further, the imagedata may be analyzed using at least one of an ego-positioning algorithm,an ego-motion algorithm or a visual odometry algorithm to determine thespecific geographic location. In some examples, a user of the wearableextended reality appliance may provide information, for example throughvoice commands, gestures or physical input devices, and the specificgeographic location may be determined based on the information providedby the user. For example, the information provided by a user may includetextual information (for example, entered using a keyboard and/ordetermined by analyzing audio with speech recognition algorithms), andthe textual information may be analyzed using a natural-languagealgorithm to determine the specific geographic location. In anotherexample, the information provided by the user may include an indicationof a location on a map (for example, through a hand gesture or a use ofa virtual cursor), and the specific geographic location may beimmediately determined from the location on the map.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve obtaining information associatedwith the request. The obtained information may include any data orinformation relevant to the request for placing a virtual content at aspecific geographic location. For example, the obtained information mayinclude information related to at least one of the entity, the virtualcontent, the specific geographic location, the at least one sharedextended reality environment, one or more virtual objects of theplurality of virtual objects, or one or more appliances of the pluralityof wearable extended reality appliances registered to the at least oneshared extended reality environment. For example, the obtainedinformation may include details on the virtual content, image data(e.g., an image of the specific geographic location), licenseinformation, ownership information, identity information, whether thespecific geographic location is public or private, affiliationinformation between the specific geographic location and the entity,content type information, the entity's location information, time of dayinformation, virtual space constraint information, and/or more detailsassociated with the specific geographic location, the content to bedisplayed, and the entity making the request. In some examples,obtaining the information may include reading the information frommemory, receiving the information from an external device, receiving theinformation from a user (for example, through a user interface),determining the information by analyzing data, and/or capturing theinformation using one or more sensors. In one embodiment, a first entitymay request to present virtual content and a second entity may receivethe presentation request from the requesting entity. The second entitymay determine whether to permit presentation of virtual content. In someembodiments, the second entity request specific information from thefirst entity about the specific geographic location.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve accessing a plurality of contentplacement rules defining geographical restrictions on extended realityenvironment content placement. A content placement rule may be anydefinition that defines the appropriateness of information for placementin a particular location (or a category or type of location). Thecontent placement rule may impose geographical restrictions, contenttype restrictions, time of day restrictions, and/or shared extendedreality environment (i.e., public or private) restrictions. For example,a content placement rule may govern what time virtual content may bepresented, size restrictions for presented virtual content, types ofcontent that may be presented, and/or who may view the presented virtualcontent. Additional examples of content placement rules are describedthroughout this specification. In one embodiment, the content placementrules may be implemented throughout a shared extended reality space toregulate which content may be placed where, when, and/or for how long.Whether an entity's request to present content meets a content placementrule may be based on obtained information. In some examples, accessingthe plurality of content placement rules may include accessing adata-structure including at least part of the plurality of contentplacement rules, accessing a database including at least part of theplurality of content placement rules, accessing a memory unit storing atleast part of the plurality of content placement rules, and/orcommunicating with an external device maintaining at least part of theplurality of content placement rules.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve, based on the obtainedinformation, determining that the request from the entity to place thevirtual content at the specific geographic location corresponds to aspecific content placement rule. The specific content placement rule maygovern whether content may be displayed at the specific geographiclocation. The specific content rule may be associated with the contenttype, i.e., the character of the content, whether the content isinanimate or animate, whether the content is meant to be publicly orprivately displayed, and/or whether the content is two-dimensional orthree-dimensional. Other content placement rules may be based on whatthe substance of the content, i.e., content meaning, appropriateness ofthe content to a determined or expected audience, where the content maybe placed, the size of the presented virtual content is, and/or whattime the content is to be displayed. A specific content placement rulemay also be based on the type of shared extended reality environment inwhich the content may be placed. For example, there may be differentcontent placement rules for public shared extended reality environmentsand private shared extended reality environments. In this example, somecontent (e.g., advertisements) may be permitted in public environmentsbut may not be permitted in private environments. In some examples, theplurality of content placement rules may be stored in a data-structureassociating request-related-information with content placement rules,and the data-structure may be accessed based on the obtained informationto determine the specific content placement rule. In some examples, aplurality of conditions may be used to select which content placementrule corresponds to which request-related-information, and the obtainedinformation may be analyzed using the conditions to determine thespecific content placement rule. In some examples, a machine learningmodel may be trained using training examples to determine contentplacement rules based on request-related-information records. An exampleof such training example may include a samplerequest-related-information, together with a label indicating a contentplacement rule corresponding to the sample request-related-information.The trained machine learning model may be used to analyze the obtainedinformation and determine the specific content placement rule.

In some embodiments, the request for presenting the virtual content maycorrespond with a specific content placement rule. For example, theremay be characteristics of the content presentation request thatcorrespond with the content placement rule in a specific geographiclocation. Such characteristics may be content type, time of dayrestrictions, and/or display size restrictions. For example, an entity'svirtual content request may involve presenting three-dimensional virtualcontent and the specific geographic location may have a contentplacement rule corresponding to three-dimensional virtual content, i.e.,it is either permitted or not permitted.

By way of example, FIG. 37C illustrates choosing a specific geographiclocation based on obtained information. Here, a wearer of wearableextended reality appliance 3718 may gesture his or her hand 3720 to aspecific location 3722 where he or she wishes to display content. InFIG. 37C, the user's wearable extended reality appliance 3718 is notregistered to the public extended reality environment, rather, theappliance is registered to the private extended reality environment.Thus, only office and business-related virtual content 3724 is displayedand the advertisements 3716 shown in FIG. 37B are not displayed. FIG.37D illustrates a virtual object 3726 being displayed after determining,based on the desired geographic location, that the specific conditionsfor content placement are met. In this example, a specific condition forcontent placement may be that the type of content is office or businessrelated. Therefore, it may be determined that the request from theentity to place the virtual content at the specific geographic locationcorresponds to a specific content placement rule.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include determining whether thecondition of the specific content placement rule is met based on thedetermined characteristic of the specific geographic location. Aspecific content placement rule may be based on a myriad of inputs andmay be configured by the wearable extended reality appliance userreceiving the presentation request. The determined characteristic may beany one of the characteristics described in this specification, such aswhether the specific geographic location is public or private, whetherthere is enough space for the virtual object to be presented, and/orwhat type of content is permitted at the specific geographic location.For example, specific content placement rules may be content-based,i.e., based on whether the content is to be public, such as anadvertisement, or private, such as content related to business oreducation. A specific content placement rule may also apply to aplurality of geographic locations. For example, a town or neighborhoodmay have content placement rules preventing the display of certain typesof virtual content. These local content placement rules may be enforcedby a local government or regulatory entity.

In some embodiments, a condition of the specific content placement rulemay prevent placement of content in the specific geographical locationin an absence of a license permitting content placement by the entity inthe specific geographical location. While content sharing may beencouraged, if anyone is able to post content anywhere, the sharedextended reality environment may become cluttered with content. As aresult, the users of the shared extended reality environment may beindifferent to the content displayed in the shared wearable extendedreality environment, damaging the effectiveness of targeted contentplaced by various entities throughout the shared extended realityenvironment. In order to reduce the crowding of virtual content items incertain locations throughout the shared wearable extended realityenvironment, it may be desirable to adopt a licensing system to reduceunwanted content. Such licenses may govern, for example, which contentmay be presented at a specific geographic location at a specific time,which types of content may be presented (i.e., public or privatecontent, two-dimensional or three-dimensional content, and/or inanimateor animate content), and/or how many virtual objects may be presented ata specific time. This licensing system may also be adapted to theprivate shared extended reality environment. For example, a license maybe utilized to prevent members of the general public from postingadvertisements or presenting other content inside private areas such ashomes, offices, shops, or other private businesses. The licensing schememay be relaxed in public spaces, but time, place, and content-typerestrictions may be implemented.

Entities may request or apply for a license to place content in privatespaces, and the licenses may be evaluated based on the products theentities wish to advertise, the time and day that the content is to bepresented, how many other virtual objects are present, and the type ofbusiness where the content is to be placed. In one example, a license topresent in a specific geographic location may not be given for a privatehome because the value of the wearable extended reality appliance user'sprivacy may outweigh the benefit they may receive from the presentingentity. However, in another example, an owner of a specific geographiclocation such as a store or office may grant a license to displayvirtual content based on the benefit it receives from the requestingentity, which may be in the form of money payment.

In a public shared extended reality environment, licenses may be grantedor denied based on the type of content that is requested to bepresented. For example, a requesting entity may need a specific licenseto present content related to age-restricted products such as tobacco oralcohol. In another example, the license may be limited based on thetime of day. In this example, a license may be required to presentcontent outside of normal business hours, such as nighttime or evenpresenting content for a 24-hour period. Content placement restrictionsmay also be implemented more broadly. For example, an entire city ortown, rather than a single wearable extended reality appliance user, mayimplement content placement restrictions that may be related to contenttype, i.e., public or private content, two-dimensional orthree-dimensional content, and/or inanimate or animate content. Contentplacement restrictions may also be based on time of day, as describedlater in this specification.

In some embodiments, the plurality of content placement rules may governa first extended reality environment and a second extended realityenvironment, and may further include preventing placement of the virtualcontent in the specific geographic location of the first extendedreality environment and permitting placement of the virtual content inthe specific geographic location of the second extended realityenvironment. As described elsewhere in this specification, wearableextended reality appliance users may register to a plurality of sharedextended reality environments. A first extended reality environment maybe a private shared extended reality environment and a second extendedreality environment may be a public shared extended reality environment.As described elsewhere in this specification, private and public sharedextended reality environments may have different content placementrestrictions. In some embodiments, placement of the virtual content,such as an advertisement, may be prohibited in the first private sharedextended reality environment, but may be permitted to be displayed inthe second public shared extended reality environment. For example,advertisements may be prevented from being displayed in a private sharedextended reality environment, such as an office, but may be permitted ina public shared extended reality environment, such as in a public parkor public transit station.

In some embodiments, obtained information associated with the virtualcontent presentation request may include information about an identityof the entity, and may further include determining whether the conditionof the specific content placement rule is met based on the informationabout the identity of the entity. Information about an identity of therequesting entity may include whether it is a private person or acorporation, what type of business the entity typically engages in,where the entity typically operates, for example, where does ittypically display virtual content, and/or how many other virtual objectsthe entity is currently displaying. Whether the condition of thespecific content placement rule is met may be based on the aboveidentity information. For example, a large corporation may wish toadvertise products in a smaller setting, such as a school or university.Based on the identity of the entity, and where the entity wishes toplace the virtual content, such information may be instrumental indetermining where the condition of the specific content placement ruleis met. Thus, for example, a content presentation request may be deniedif the information contains details that are not desirable to arecipient of the content. Such details may include, for example, thetype of product that the company typically advertises or typicalcustomers. For example, a company that sells unhealthy food products ortobacco products may not meet the specific content placement rule if itwishes to advertise at a school or university campus.

In some embodiments, obtained information associated with the request topresent content may include information about a physical location of theentity, and the operations may further include determining whether thecondition of the specific content placement rule is met based on theinformation about the physical location of the entity. A receivingwearable extended reality appliance user may accept or deny an entity'spresentation request based on the entity's physical location. Forexample, if the requesting entity is located close to the specificgeographic location, the request may be accepted. If the requestingentity is located remote from the specific geographic location, i.e.,where the requesting entity wishes to present content, the presentationrequest may be denied.

Additionally, an entity's physical location may differ based on the timethe request was made. An entity's location at different times may beuseful for a receiving wearable extended reality appliance user indetermining whether to grant the presentation request because thediffering locations may show whether the requesting entity is movingcloser to the requested specific geographic location, which may factorfavorably into granting a presentation request, or moving further awayfrom the requested specific geographic location, which may factorunfavorably into granting a presentation request. For example, theentity's physical location may be that at the receiving time of therequest, a time period before the receiving time of the request, aphysical location during a time leading up to the receiving time of therequest, and/or a physical location during a time shortly after thereceiving time of the request. Depending on where the entity's physicallocation is at these times, the request to present content may bedenied.

In some embodiments, when the obtained information about the physicallocation of the entity indicates that at a time of making the request,the entity is located at a first location remote from the specificgeographic location, the display of the virtual content may beprevented. Virtual content may be prevented from being displayed when anentity's physical location is remote from the geographic location wherethe virtual content is to be displayed. Display prevention may be afunction of a distance of a requesting entity from the requestedspecific geographic location. Additionally, remoteness may be based ondifferences in time zone, elevation, and/or topography. The thresholddistance, i.e., the distance where a presentation request may be grantedor denied based on how remote the requesting entity is, may beconfigurable or may be a matter of design choice by the system designer.

For example, if the requesting entity is remote from a particularlocation, e.g., fifteen kilometers or more, it may be undesirable topermit such an entity to display content at the particular locationbecause it may cause cluttering public shared extended reality spaces.For example, if remote entities were permitted to present virtualcontent in areas that are far away from their physical locations, theseareas may become overloaded with virtual content.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include receiving updatedinformation indicating that the entity is located at a second locationproximate to the specific geographic location, for example afterpreventing the display of the virtual content based on the informationabout the physical location of the entity. Proximate may refer to howclose the requesting entity is to the specific geographic location, andmay be determined based on distance, time zone, and/or elevation. Theprocessor may compare the proximate distance to the remote distancethreshold to aid in determining whether the presentation request may beapproved. This proximate distance threshold may be configured by thereceiving wearable extended reality appliance user or may be designedinto the system. The content the entity requested may be automaticallydisplayed when the entity moves closer to the recipient of the request,i.e., within the proximate distance threshold. Whereas the remotethreshold distance may govern whether requested content may be presentedor not, the proximate distance threshold may govern the distance atwhich content may be automatically presented. For example, virtualcontent may be automatically presented when the requesting entity iswithin one to ten kilometers of the specific geographic location, and/orthe requesting entity is within one kilometer and also at the sameelevation as the specific geographic location.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include automatically enablingthe display of the virtual content at the specific geographic locationin the at least one shared extended reality environment by at least someof the plurality of wearable extended reality appliances in response toreceiving updated information. When an entity is remote from thespecific geographic location and requests to display content relevant toits location, presenting the virtual content may overload the virtualspace in the requested area. Although the requested content may meetother content placement restrictions, the requesting entity may be tooremote for the receiving wearable extended reality appliance to acceptthe entity's request. However, when the requesting entity moves closerto a recipient of the request, the requested content may beautomatically displayed. This may enable entities to plan distributionof virtual content along a route. The distance at which content isautomatically displayed may be configured by the wearable extendedreality appliance user at the specific geographic location. For example,the proximate threshold distance may be within ten, live, or onekilometer(s) of the specific geographic location. The proximatethreshold distance may also be based on elevation. For example, contentmay be automatically displayed when the requesting entity and thespecific geographic location are within one kilometer of each other andare also located at the same elevation.

The obtained information associated with the request includes ownershipinformation associated with the specific geographic location, and somedisclosed embodiments may further include determining whether thecondition of the specific content placement rule is met based on theownership information. Ownership information associated with thespecific geographic location may refer to whether the owner is a publicor private user. If a private user, ownership information may includethe entity's identity (e.g., personal name, company name, organization,and/or sponsor). In some embodiments, an entity may be permitted todisplay a specific virtual content in a specific geographic locationthat it owns and may be prohibited from displaying a specific virtualcontent in a specific geographic location that it does not own. In somecases, the specific geographic location in the request may be a privateplace or a public place. Private places may have more content placementrules than public places, even within the same shared extended realityenvironment. For example, a private place may be associated withrestrictions as to what type of content may be displayed, what time thecontent may be placed, and where the content may be placed. In thisexample, an entity may only be able to post office or business-relatedcontent if the specific geographic location is in a private place suchas an office building, owned by the entity. By contrast, an entity maybe able to present a wider array of content if the ownership informationindicates that the specific geographic location is in a public place,owned by the local town or city.

By way of example, the obtained information may include ownershipinformation that the specific geographic location is in a public place,such as a park. The owner of the specific geographic location may be thelocal town, which may have more relaxed presentation rules. In oneexample, the entity may wish to present virtual content comprising anadvertisement for a soft drink. In this public environment, a specificcontent placement rule may state that advertisements for soft drinks arepermitted. Thus, in this example, the content placement rule was met,and the entity was permitted to display an advertisement for a softdrink. In another example, the ownership information may indicate thatthe specific geographic location is in a private place owned by aprivate wearable extended reality appliance user. As in the previousexample, the entity may wish to present virtual content comprising anadvertisement for a soft drink. However, unlike the previous example, acondition of the specific content placement rule may state that nooutside advertisements are permitted. Thus, the request to present thevirtual content may be denied because the specific content placementrule is not met. In another example, the requesting entity may be anemployee of a company and the specific geographic location is thecompany building, owned and occupied by the company. Here, the contentplacement rule may be met because, based on obtained ownershipinformation, the requesting entity's place of work is at the specificgeographic location.

Consistent with one aspect, the obtained information associated with thevirtual content presentation request may include affiliation informationreflecting a connection of the entity with the specific geographiclocation, and some disclosed embodiments may further include determiningwhether the condition of the specific content placement rule is metbased on the affiliation information. Affiliation information may referto any connection that the requesting entity has with the specificgeographic location. For example, a lobby of a building may beassociated with the company located in the building. A sporting venuemay be associated with the home sports team affiliated with the venue. Aconference room may be affiliated with an office in which the conferenceroom is located. The affiliation information may additionally oralternatively include information related to ownership interests betweenthe requesting entity and the specific geographic location, priorinstances where the entity presented virtual content at the specificgeographic location, and/or whether the specific geographic location ispublic or private. Ownership interests may refer to whether therequesting entity owns the specific geographic location. For example,affiliation information reflecting a connection with the specificgeographic location may be useful in determining whether a contentplacement rule is met because if the requesting entity is affiliatedwith the specific geographic location, the affiliation may suggest thatthe content placement rule is met. Additionally, the affiliation maysuggest that the requesting entity has previously presented virtualcontent at the specific geographic location. An affiliation may be afranchisor-franchisee relationship, landlord-tenant relationship,employer-employee relationship, and/or any other business or otherwiseworking relationship that may suggest that the entity has previouslyengaged with the specific geographic location or has a measure ofauthority associated with the geographical location. For example, therequesting entity may be an employee of a store who wishes to present anadvertisement in the store. Since the requesting entity is affiliatedwith the specific geographic location, the associated affiliationinformation may be used to determine whether the condition of thespecific content placement rule is met.

In another example, affiliation information may refer to prior instanceswhere the requesting entity was permitted to present virtual content.This affiliation information may be relevant in both the public andprivate space. Here, if the affiliation information reflects that therequesting entity previously presented virtual content at the specificgeographic location, this may indicate that the specific contentplacement rule was previously met and may be met at the current time aswell. For example, a not-for-profit entity may have been grantedpermission to post information in a public space and the permissiongranted in the past may determine an ability to place content in thefuture.

Consistent with one aspect, the obtained information associated with thevirtual content presentation request may include information about acontent type, and some disclosed embodiments may further includedetermining whether the condition of the specific content placement ruleis met based on the information about the content type. A variety ofdifferent virtual content types may be presented. Content type may referto one or more characteristics or properties of the virtual contents.Such characteristics or properties may include, for example, whether thevirtual content is of a commercial or public informational nature,whether the content is of a public or private nature, whether thecontent is a document, video, or presentation, whether the content istwo-dimensional or three-dimensional, and/or any other propertiesrelated to the subject matter or properties of the content (e.g.,ownership or affiliation information associated with a presenter of thecontent or recipient of the content.) Public content may refer tocontent that is posted in the public extended reality environment.Public content may be visible to many or all wearable extended realityappliance users. Such public content may also include advertisements.Private content may refer to content that is posted in a privateextended reality environment. i.e., a limited number of users may beable to view the presented virtual content. Private virtual content maybe documents, videos, or presentations that are relevant to conductingbusiness, education, or simply sharing between family members orfriends. Determining the content type may be helpful in determiningwhether the content placement rule is met. For example, a contentplacement rule may limit presented content to private documents andother business-related content. Here, if a requesting entity wishes topresent a public advertisement in a private environment, that requestmay be denied based on the content type-based content placement rulebecause the content placement rule is not met. In this example, thecontent placement rule may prevent the presentation of public contentsuch as advertisements. However, if a requesting entity wishes topresent a private document in a specific geographic location to aprivate user, that request may be approved because the content placementrule is met.

Consistent with one aspect, the obtained information associated with thevirtual content presentation request may include information about atime of day, and some disclosed embodiments may further includedetermining whether the condition of the specific content placement ruleis met based on the information about the time of day. Time of dayinformation may include the time of day at which the request to presentvirtual content is received, and/or a time of day when the virtualcontent is to be displayed. For example, a content placement rule maylimit receiving presentation requests to normal 9 AM to 5 PM businesshours. Here, if a receiving wearable extended reality appliance userreceives a presentation request outside of normal 9 AM to 5 PM businesshours, the content placement rule may not be met, and thus thepresentation request may be denied. The time of day that the virtualcontent is to be displayed is also relevant to determining whether thespecific content placement rule is met. For example, a content placementrule may limit presenting virtual content to normal working hours of 9AM to 5 PM. Here, the specific content placement rule may not be met ifa request to display private virtual content is outside the workinghours of 9 AM to 5 PM. In another example, a content placement rule maylimit presenting content outside of the operating hours of a publicspace. Here, an entity may request to present virtual content in apublic park, but the park is only open from dawn to dusk. If an entityrequests to present virtual content outside of those hours, the specificcontent placement rule may not be met, and the request to presentvirtual content may be denied.

In some embodiments, there may be content placement rules based on thetime of day that govern which type of content may be presented at whichtime. Here, one type of content may be presented at a first time of day,and a second type of content may be presented at a second time of day.For example, a specific rule may allow display of an advertisementrelated to coffee and breakfast in the morning, and soft drinks andlunch in the afternoon. In this example, the content placement rule maynot be met if the requesting entity wishes to present content related tocoffee and breakfast in the afternoon or late evening. Thus, the requestto present virtual content may be denied.

Consistent with one aspect, the obtained information associated with thevirtual content presentation request may include virtual spaceconstraint information associated with the specific geographic location,and some disclosed embodiments may further include determining whetherthe condition of the specific content placement rule is met based on thevirtual space constraint information. Virtual space constraintinformation may refer to the number of objects that may be placed at thespecific geographic location, the size of the objects that may be placedat the specific geographic location, the total virtual real estateavailable for placement and/or the specific arrangement of the objectsat the specific geographic location (i.e., if some virtual content maybe presented before other virtual content). Virtual space constraintinformation may also refer to how many virtual objects are in thevicinity of the specific geographic location. Virtual space constraintsmay exist so that there are not too many virtual objects presented inone specific geographic location, or in the vicinity of one specificgeographic location. Virtual space constraints may limit the number ofvirtual objects that may be presented in a single geographic locationand may depend on the size of the virtual space. Virtual spaceconstraints may also depend on the size of the objects presented and arealso related to the size of the virtual space. Virtual space constraintsmay also refer to a specific arrangement of objects at the specificgeographic location. Depending on the size of the virtual space, virtualobjects may need to be organized in a certain way to either avoidoverlapping or overloading the virtual space or to be more visible topassersby.

For example, a specific content placement rule may prevent more thanfour virtual objects from being presented in a virtual space. Thecontent placement rule may be based on how many virtual objects arepresent in the virtual space and may also be based on the display sizeof the objects in the virtual space. If the display of one of thevirtual objects is larger than another, fewer virtual objects may beable to be displayed. In this example, an entity may request to presentvirtual content in a specific geographic location. However, if theentity requests to present four large virtual objects, the request maybe denied because even though the entity's request met the contentplacement rule regarding the number of virtual objects in the virtualspace, it did not meet the size requirement, and thus the presentationrequest may be denied.

In another example, a specific content placement rule may prevent thedisplay of virtual content unless it is arranged in a specific way,i.e., two small virtual objects located adjacent to two larger virtualobjects. If a requesting entity wishes to present content that does notmeet the virtual space constraint, e.g., the request involves threesmall virtual objects located adjacent to one larger virtual object, thecontent placement rule may not be met, and the presentation request maybe denied.

By way of example, FIG. 38 is a diagram that illustrates contentplacement rules 3824 that are associated with multiple input parametersthat include information about the requesting entity, the specificgeographic location, and content type. The input parameters may refer tothe information obtained by a processing device. The processing devicemay be included in remote processing unit 208 (e.g., processing device560), included in XR unit 204 (e.g., processing device 460), included ininput device 202 (e.g., processing device 360), or included in mobilecommunications device 206. Input parameter 3810 may representinformation about an identity of the entity, input parameter 3812 mayrepresent information about a physical location of the entity, inputparameter 3814 may represent virtual space constraint information, inputparameter 3816 may represent ownership information, input parameter 3818may represent affiliation information, input parameter 3820 mayrepresent content type information, and input parameter 3822 mayrepresent information about a time of day. The content placement rules3824 may be configurable and may include rules related to public orprivate content, time restrictions, content type restrictions, ownershiprestrictions, affiliation restrictions, physical location restrictions,display size restrictions, and/or virtual object number restrictions.Based on the input parameters and the content placement rules 3824, theprocessing device may execute one or more of the following operations:operation 3826 preventing the display of the virtual content, operation3828 enabling the display of the virtual content, operation 3830modifying the virtual content for display, and/or operation 3832applying a time limitation for displaying the virtual content.

Related embodiments may include receiving image data captured from anarea of the specific geographic location via an image sensor associatedwith the requesting entity's wearable extended reality appliance. Theimage data may be captured either continuously or periodically, i.e.,every few seconds. For example, an image sensor that acquires the imagedata may be located on the lens, bridge, or any other location on thewearable extended reality appliance so as to capture accurate imagedata. Captured image data may include color, brightness, light, and/ortexture information, location information, geographic information,and/or height or depth information about the specific geographiclocation.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include analyzing image data todetermine a characteristic of the specific geographic location. Forexample, the characteristic of the specific geographic location mayinclude indications of whether the location is inside or outside, i.e.,an office, home, street, park, or other public or private location. Insome examples, a characteristic of a geographic location may include thephysical dimensions associated with the specific geographic location,i.e., the height, width, and depth of the surface where the content isto be presented. Another characteristic of a geographic location mayinclude the number of people present at, or in the vicinity of, thespecific geographic location. For example, the more people who arepresent at a specific geographic location, the more viewers of apresented virtual object, e.g., an advertisement, and thus there aremore potential purchasers of the advertised product. A furthercharacteristic of a geographic location may include the number ofvirtual objects present at, or in the vicinity of, the specificgeographic location. For example, if an entity wishes to present virtualcontent so that it is visible to other wearable extended realityappliance users, one characteristic that the entity may analyze is howmany virtual objects are already in that specific geographic locationand if there is space to present another virtual object or a pluralityof virtual objects. In this example, the specific geographic locationmay be a billboard on a highway, and two virtual objects may already bepresent on the billboard. Thus, the entity may not present virtualcontent there based on the presence of the other virtual objects. Inanother example, the requesting entity may opt to present virtualcontent at an area that is close to the billboard, but not so close asto confuse a viewer with cluttered content. In some examples, a machinelearning model may be trained using training examples to determinecharacteristic of geographic locations from images and/or videos. Anexample of such training example may include a sample image and/or asample video of a sample geographic location, together with a labelindicating characteristic of the sample geographic location. The trainedmachine learning model may be used to analyze the image data todetermine the characteristic of the specific geographic location. Insome examples, the characteristic of geographic locations may bereceived from a user (for example through a user interface), may be readfrom memory, may be received from an external device, and/or may beobtained from a database.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve implementing the specific contentplacement rule to prevent a display of the virtual content at thespecific geographic location in the at least one shared extended realityenvironment by at least some of the plurality of wearable extendedreality appliances when a condition of the specific content placementrule is not met. Each wearable extended reality appliance (or its user)may be checked against rules. Those appliances or users who meet therules may be permitted to post content; those who do not may beprohibited. A specific content placement rule may apply to multipleshared extended reality environments and may involve multiple parties.Depending on the purpose of presenting virtual content, there may bemore than one shared extended reality environment. Many it not all usersmay have access to a public shared extended reality environment in whichvarious types of virtual content may be displayed. However, there mayalso be a plurality of private shared extended reality environments inwhich virtual content may be shared only between a limited number ofusers. For example, in one private shared extended reality environment,content may only be shared between a limited number of users who may befriends or family. In another example, there may be a private sharedextended reality environment where content may be shared between alimited number of users who are coworkers or students. In some examples,implementing the specific content placement rule to prevent a display ofthe virtual content at the specific geographic location in the at leastone shared extended reality environment may comprise avoiding adding thevirtual content to the at least one shared extended reality environment,at all or at least at the specific geographic location.

While specific types of content may be permitted in some shared extendedreality environments, this content may not be permitted in other sharedextended reality environments based on specific content placement rulesat specific geographic locations. Content placement rules may be basedon content type, time of day, virtual space constraints, and/or whetherthe specific geographic location is public or private. When a contentplacement rule is met, display of virtual content may be enabled. When acontent placement rule is not met, display of virtual content may beprevented. For example, advertisements may be permitted in a publicshared extended reality environment, but not in a private officeenvironment or a private friends or family environment. Such a privateenvironment may also be in a wearable extended reality appliance user'shome, and it may be desirable to not have unwanted ads in one's home.The system may use the content placement rules to prevent unwantedcontent. In one example, users in home, office, and family environments,i.e., a plurality of users in different shared extended realityenvironments, may prevent the public content from being presentedbecause it may interfere with their ability to present the content thatthey wanted, such as business-related content. In this example,presenting public advertisements in a private office setting may bedistracting to employees. The group of users that may prevent thedisplay of content may also be a local government or regulatory entity.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve implementing the specific contentplacement rule to enable the display of the virtual content at thespecific geographic location in the at least one shared extended realityenvironment by at least some of the plurality of wearable extendedreality appliances when the condition of the specific content placementrule is met. In some examples, implementing the specific contentplacement rule to enable the display of the virtual content at thespecific geographic location in the at least one shared extended realityenvironment may comprise adding the virtual content to the at least oneshared extended reality environment at the specific geographic location.

In some embodiments, content may be enabled to be presented, providedthat a specific content placement rule is met. A content placement rulemay be based on content type, time of day, virtual space constraints,and/or whether the specific geographic location is public or private.Content may be presented when the content placement rule is met, and thespecific content placement rule may apply to more than one sharedextended reality environment, i.e., both a public and private extendedreality environment. In some embodiments, a plurality of wearableextended reality appliance users may implement a content placement rule,and that plurality of users may determine which content may be presentedand which content may not be presented. Additionally, this plurality ofusers may determine whether virtual content may be presented in bothprivate and public shared extended reality environments.

A content placement rule may apply to content that is useful andinformative to all users and/or conveys emergency information. Forexample, a content placement rule may permit news and weather reports tobe displayed in emergency situations, such as when severe weather isapproaching the area. In one embodiment, this content placement rule maybe met when the public content that is requested to be presented isinformative to all users, i.e., it includes urgent weather-relatedinformation, and thus may be enabled to be presented.

A plurality of users, i.e., local government or regulatory entities, maydetermine which public content may be displayed in private sharedextended reality environments. Additionally, permitting this content tobe presented may meet the content placement rule described above, andthus may be presented by at least some private shared extended realityenvironments. Each unique content placement rule may be configured by anindividual wearable extended reality appliance user or plurality ofusers.

In some embodiments, implementing the specific content placement rule toenable virtual content display may include presenting the virtualcontent in a manner overlaying a physical object at the specificgeographic location. When overlaying virtual content at the specificgeographic location, there may be at least one physical object and atleast one virtual object. Overlaying virtual content may refer topresenting virtual content atop a physical object. The physical objectmay be a screen, sign, poster, wall, window, or any other physicalobject wherein virtual content may be displayed. For example, a specificcontent placement rule to enable virtual content display may requirevirtual content to be presented on a screen or other flat surface. Ifthere is no screen or other flat surface available, the request topresent virtual content may be denied. By way of another example, apresented virtual object may be docked with another virtual objectbefore being overlaid over the physical object, i.e., two virtualobjects are docked with one another before they are presented over aphysical object such as a screen. For example, presented virtual contentmay involve a first virtual object such as video content. A secondvirtual object that may be docked with the video content may be a volumeadjustment bar. The content placement rule at the specific geographiclocation may stipulate that a second virtual object, here, a volumeadjustment bar, must be associated with the virtual content before thecontent may be overlaid over the physical object. The content placementrule may be met if the first virtual object (the video content) and thesecond virtual object (the volume bar) are docked to one another beforethe content is presented over the physical object. In this example, thecontent placement rule is met, and the presentation request may begranted. In another example, the same content placement rule applies,i.e., virtual objects must be docked to one another before content maybe displayed over physical object. In this example, if the first virtualobject (the video content) is not docked with the second virtual object(the volume adjustment bar), the content placement rule is not met, andthe presentation request may be denied.

In some embodiments, implementing the specific content placement rule toenable virtual content display may include docking the virtual contentto a physical object located in an area of the specific geographiclocation. Docking may refer to the action of linking, tethering,attaching, pairing, or in some way connecting a virtual object and aphysical object. An example of a virtual object is a virtual screen(also referred to as a ‘virtual display’ or a ‘virtual display screen’herein), and an example of a physical object may be a keyboard. Whendocked, the virtual object and the physical object may move together intandem and change location and/or orientation. Virtual objects may alsobe docked with other virtual objects.

In one implementation, the physical object may be movable, and somedisclosed embodiments may further include receiving an input indicativeof a movement of the physical object to a new location and enabling thedisplay of the virtual content at the new location. A movable physicalobject may be one that is possible to relocate based on its size,weight, orientation, and/or other characteristic. A movable object maybe a keyboard, a mouse, a touchpad, a pointing device, a microphone, apencil, a pen, a stylus, a joystick, a person, a robot, and/or any otherobject that a wearable extended reality appliance user may dock with avirtual object.

In some embodiments, input indicative of a movement of a physical objectmay be received from a sensor included in the physical object. Movementmay also be detected based on position of the object. In one example, asensor may be a motion sensor, image sensor, and/or a combination of amotion sensor and an image sensor. Other examples of using other sensorsto determine movement of physical objects are discussed above. Thecaptured motion or image data may be used in order to determine that thephysical object has moved to a new location. The sensor(s) may belocated on any part of the physical object so that a motion sensor mayaccurately capture changes in position and/or orientation, and the imagesensor may capture changes in color, brightness, texture, and/or lightso as to signal a change in location. A motion sensor may be associatedwith the physical object which sends a signal to the processorassociated with the non-transitory computer readable medium that thekeyboard has moved to a new location. Image data may also be used todetermine that the movable physical object has moved to a new location,for example by analyzing the image data using an ego-motion algorithm.Once it is determined that the movable physical object has relocated,the virtual content may be displayed at the second location. The virtualcontent may be displayed at the second location because the virtualobject is docked to the physical object.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include receiving an inputindicative of a movement of the physical object to a new geographiclocation. The processor, for example, based on captured image or motiondata received from the physical object, or based on other input data asdescribed above, may determine that the physical object has moved to anew geographic location. For example, the image data may be analyzedusing an ego-motion algorithm or an ego positioning algorithm todetermine that the physical object has moved to a new geographiclocation. The processor may also determine a change in physical locationbased on GPS data. In this example, a GPS is included as part of themovable physical object.

Some disclosed embodiments may further include selecting a secondcontent placement rule, based on the new geographic location. Contentplacement rules may change between two different geographic locations. Afirst geographic location may be private, and a second geographiclocation may be public. Content placement rules may also change betweentwo public geographic locations. For example, for public locations, afirst town may have different public content placement rules compared toa second town. In some embodiments, the movable physical object may bemoved from a first location to a second location. Because the physicalobject is docked with a virtual object, the virtual object moves to thesecond location as well. Here, the second location may have a differentcontent placement rule compared to the first location's contentplacement rule. For example, the first location may be a publiclocation, and the second location may be private. The public locationmay have different content placement rules as compared to the privatelocation. For example, advertisements may be permitted in the firstpublic location, but not in the second private location.

Some disclosed embodiments may include implementing the second contentplacement rule to prevent a display of the virtual content at the newgeographic location when a condition of the second content placementrule is not met. Other disclosed embodiments may also includeimplementing the second content placement rule to enable the display ofthe virtual content at the new geographic location when the condition ofthe second content placement rule is met.

In some embodiments, a content placement rule at a first specificgeographic location may be met, enabling content to be presented.However, the content placement rule at a second specific geographiclocation may not be met, and the request to present content may bedenied. The content placement rule may govern virtual content type,virtual space restrictions, time of day restrictions, and/or public orprivate shared extended reality space restrictions. The second specificgeographic location may be in the same shared extended reality space(i.e., public or private), may be in a different shared extended realityspace, and/or may be located close to or remote from the first specificgeographic location. In other embodiments, a content placement rule at afirst geographic location may not be met, and thus virtual content isprevented from being presented. However, a content placement rule at asecond specific geographic location may be met, thus enabling virtualcontent to be presented.

For example, advertisements may be permitted in the first publiclocation, but not in a second private location. Thus, a requestingentity may be prevented from presenting virtual content in a secondprivate location because the second content placement rule has not beenmet. In the example described above, the requesting entity was unable topresent virtual content in the second location because they did not meetthe second content placement rules. In that example, presentingadvertisements was permitted in the first public location but not thesecond private location. In another example, however, a presentingentity may be presenting content that is permitted in both a publicfirst location and a private second location. For example, the presentedcontent may be a weather report that is beneficial to both public usersand private users. Local government or regulatory entities may determinewhat content is permitted to be displayed in both public and privateshared extended reality environments. In this example, the contentplacement rule in the private specific geographic location permits newsreports to be presented but prevents advertising content from beingpresented. Thus, because the content placement rule of the secondlocation is met, the content may be presented. If a user does not wishto view this content, he or she may create another shared extendedreality environment and filter out the content that he or she does notwish to view. This user may add other users to the new shared extendedreality environment based on the new content placement restrictions theuser created.

In some embodiments, implementing the specific content placement rule toenable virtual content display may include storing data associated withthe virtual content and associating the data with the specificgeographic location. Stored data may include content type of thedisplayed content, i.e., public or private content, inanimate or animatecontent, i.e., video or document content, two-dimensional orthree-dimensional content, and/or the display size of the content. Datamay be stored over time in the non-transitory computer readable medium.This data, over time, may be associated with a specific geographiclocation. The data may be placed in a record in a database or datastructure, and/or the two items (i.e., the requested virtual content andthe specific geographic location) may be linked in a database (such as akey-value database), data structure, or lookup table, in order to beassociated with a specific geographic location. For example, an entitymay present different types of virtual content at different specificgeographic locations over a one-year period. The entity presents thesame type of virtual content as the same location each time. Thus, overthe one-year period, the processor associated with the non-transitorycomputer readable medium may preemptively associate certain virtualcontent with certain specific geographic locations and may preemptivelydetermine that a specific content placement rule to enable contentdisplay is met or not met based on the stored data. In some embodiments,a machine learning algorithm may also be implemented to store test dataover time, such that the processor may preemptively determine whichvirtual content may be permitted to be displayed, and which virtualcontent may be prevented from being displayed.

For example, an entity may present an advertisement at a particularspecific geographic location in a public shared extended space three orfour times consecutively. When the wearable extended reality appliancereceives the fifth request, the processor may automatically determinethat the content placement rule is met based on the entity's priorplacement of the content.

In some embodiments, implementing the specific content placement rule toenable virtual content display may include determining a time limitationfor displaying the virtual content at the specific geographic location.A time limitation may include a cap on how long specific virtual contentmay be displayed. A time limitation may be based on the content type ofthe displayed content, i.e., public or private content, inanimate oranimate content, two-dimensional or three-dimensional content, and/orthe display size of the content. Public content may be displayed for alonger time as compared to private content, depending on the contentplacement rule at a specific geographic location. Time limitations mayalso be tied to a specific time of day. Depending on the virtual contentdisplayed, the time limitation may be a set time period, such as onehour or two hours, or may be based on the time of day, such as morning,afternoon, evening, or nighttime. The time limitation may also be basedon normal 9 AM to 5 PM working hours. In this example, some virtualcontent may be time-limited to be displayed only during working hours,and some virtual content may be time-limited to only be displayedoutside of working hours. In one example, displayed content may bepublic and in a high-trafficked area such as a town square or park. Atpeak times, such as when people are going to and from work, timelimitations at that specific geographic location may be short. That is,virtual content may be displayed for a shorter time at peak trafficperiods than at lower traffic periods.

Time limitations may also exist for the hours themselves. For example,content may be prevented from being displayed at a specific geographiclocation at night or during the earlier morning. In another example,content placement rules at specific geographic locations may be relatedto working hours. Here, content placement rules may permit some contentoutside of working hours and not permit that content during workinghours. Virtual content that may lie within this rule may include publicadvertisements for bars, clubs, or other social gathering spaces.Presenting virtual content related to these spaces during working hoursmay hinder productivity, and thus may not be permitted in a sharedextended realty environment.

In some embodiments, implementing the specific content placement mayinclude modifying the virtual content for display at the specificgeographic location. Modifying the display of content may refer toreducing certain display parameters and/or changing the subject matterof the displayed content and may occur in a myriad of ways. Modifyingthe display of content may include reducing brightness, intensity, oropacity of inanimate content, reducing the frame rate of animatecontent, changing the color scheme of displayed content, and/or reducingthe display size of the virtual content. Modifying the display ofcontent may also involve changing the content itself in order to meetthe specific content placement restriction at the specific geographiclocation. For example, modifying the display of content may includemodifying a gender of a character in an advertisement from a man to awoman.

For example, if there are virtual space constraints at the specificgeographic location, an entity may modify the size of the presentedvirtual content. An entity may also change the colors of the presentedvirtual content to meet specific geographic location requirements. Forexample, an office or classroom may have a desired color scheme forpresented content. The content itself may also be changed based on therestrictions associated with the location. For example, if a school orplace of worship is nearby, an entity that wishes to present content mayneed to ensure that the presented content is not offending. In anotherexample, animated content may need to be changed to inanimate content ifthe geographic restrictions require it. In yet another example,three-dimensional content may need to be reconfigured as two-dimensionalcontent to meet virtual space constraints.

By way of example, FIG. 39 depicts a flow chart 3910 illustrating method3910 of determining whether to display content. Method 3910 may includestep 3912 of receiving a request from an entity to display virtualcontent. Method 3910 may also include step 3914 of receiving informationassociated with the entity's request. Such information, as discussed inFIG. 38, may include information about an identity of the entity,information about a physical location of the entity, ownershipinformation, affiliation information, and/or content type information.Method 3910 may also include step 3916 of identifying a specific contentplacement rule. Such a rule may be based on the type of content theentity wishes to present, and/or whether it is public or private. Method3910 may also include step 3918 of determining whether the contentplacement rule is met. When the condition associated with the specificcontent placement rule is not met (Step 3918: NO), method 3910 mayinclude step 3920, where virtual content may be prevented from beingdisplayed at the specific geographic location. However, method 3910 mayalso include step 3922, where the processor may receive ongoinginformation, such as time of day information and virtual spaceconstraint information and may reevaluate the requesting entity's queryaccordingly. When the condition associated with the specific contentplacement rule is met (Step 3918: YES), method 3910 may include step3924, which may enable the display of the virtual content at thespecific geographic location. Method 3910 may also include step 3926 ofreceiving additional information. Even though the content placement ruleis met at one specific geographic location, the content placement rulemay not be met at a second geographic location. Thus, processing device360, 460, or 560 (see FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) may be configured to keepreceiving information.

By way of example, FIG. 40 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplarymethod 4010 for managing content placement in extended realityenvironments. Process 4010 may be performed by one or more processingdevices (e.g., 360, 460, 560) associated with input unit 202 (asdepicted in FIG. 3), XR unit 204 (as depicted in FIG. 4), and/or remoteprocessing unit 208 (as depicted in FIG. 5). The steps of the disclosedmethod 4010 may be modified in any manner, including by reordering stepsand/or inserting or deleting steps. Method 4010 may include a step 4012of receiving a request from an entity to place virtual content at aspecific geographic location in at least one shared extended realityenvironment. Method 4010 may also include a step 4014 of obtaininginformation associated with the request. The extended reality appliancereceiving the virtual content placement request may access a pluralityof content placement rules defining geographical restrictions onextended reality environment content placement 4016 (as depicted in FIG.38). Method 4010 may also include step 4018 of determining that therequest from the entity to place the virtual content at the specificgeographic location corresponds to a specific content placement value.The extended reality appliance receiving the request may implement thespecific content placement rule to prevent a display of the virtualcontent when a condition of the specific content placement rule is notmet 4020 and may enable the display of the virtual content when acondition of the specific content placement rule is met 4022.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve presenting virtual content tomultiple viewers. Virtual content, as described more fully in otherportions of this disclosure, may include any non-physical representationof information that may be displayed. Virtual content may includetwo-dimensional virtual objects, three-dimensional virtual objects,animated content, unanimated content, textual data, or other graphicalrepresentations. The virtual content may be shared in a physical room ora virtual room with physical viewers and/or virtual viewers. Theposition and/or orientation of the virtual content may be determinedbased on one or more viewer locations for optimal user experience.Multiple individuals wearing extended reality appliances may, forexample, be presented with a virtual screen that may be displayed toeach viewer at a single location to all viewers in a room, with eachviewer being presented with the same content but from a differentperspective.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve receiving sensor data indicativeof a plurality of wearable extended reality appliances located in aroom. Receiving sensor data may refer to collecting, acquiring,gathering, or getting any type of data that is output from a sensor orthat is derived from signals output from a sensor. For example,receiving the sensor data may comprise at least one of reading thesensor data from memory, receiving the sensor data from an externaldevice, receiving the sensor data from one or more sensors, capturingthe sensor data using one or more sensors, and so forth. A sensor mayrefer to a device that detects and/or responds to an input from aphysical or virtual environment. Non-limiting examples of sensors thatmay be used to provide sensor data indicative of a plurality of wearableextended reality appliances located in a room may include image sensors,audio sensors, motion sensors, temperature sensors, vibration sensors,infrared sensors, LIDAR sensors, or any other device capable ofidentifying the presence and/or the identity of wearable extendedreality appliance. Other sensors that may be used to capture sensor dataindicative of the plurality of wearable extended reality appliancesbeing in the room, such as positioning sensor, are described above. Forexample, the sensor data may include sensor data captured using sensorsincluded in wearable extended reality appliances, a processor within aserver (e.g., server 210) may receive sensor data from differentprocessors within the wearable extended reality appliances, or aprocessor included in one of the wearable extended reality appliancesmay receive the sensor data. In another example, the sensor data mayinclude sensor data captured using a sensor not included in any wearableextended reality appliance, such as an image sensor positioned in theroom.

A room may refer to an area, place, accommodation, or other similarspace that may be occupied or where events may occur, such as a displayof virtual content. The room may be a virtual room, a physical room, ora combination of a virtual and physical space. For example, data, forexample in the form of multiple images captured at different times froman image sensor, may indicate, show, or portray that more than onewearable extended reality appliance are physically or virtually locatedin a physical or virtual room. For example, there may be two, three,four, or five wearable extended reality appliances in the room. In someexamples, the room may be completely virtual, and, in other examples,the room may be completely physical.

By way of example, FIG. 41 illustrates a plurality of wearable extendedreality appliances 4102 located in a room 4100. For example, the room4100 may be a physical room and the plurality of wearable extendedreality appliances 4102 may include two wearable extended realityappliances 4102. FIG. 41 also illustrates a virtual object 4104 at aposition 4112 displayed for viewing via wearable extended realityappliances 4102. A first wearable extended reality appliance is locatedat a first location 4106 and a second wearable extended realityappliance is located at a second location 4108. Furniture 4120 and aphysical object 4124 (e.g., a vase) is also present in this example.Sensor 4114 is also present in this example.

In some embodiments, the sensor data may be received from at least oneof the first wearable extended reality appliance, the second wearableextended reality appliance, or the third wearable extended realityappliance. It should be apparent to one ordinarily skilled in the artthat the disclosed embodiments, for example, may include at least oneprocessor for providing the functionality described herein. In someembodiments, at least one processor may be associated with a wearableextended reality appliance. The wearable extended reality appliance maybe configured to acquire sensor data from an environment (for example,using one or more sensors included in the wearable extended realityappliance) and transmit the sensor data (or a portion of the sensordata) to, for example, a remote server. In some embodiments, the atleast one processor may be configured to collect sensor data from asensor associated with one or more wearable extended reality appliances.For example, if three extended reality appliance are in proximity toeach other, one or more of them may transmit data obtained from anon-board sensor. For example, the sensor in one appliance may detectother appliances in proximity and transmit data identifying theirpresence and/or information reflective of their specific identity. Eachwearable extended reality appliance may identify one or more otherappliances to provide a collective indication of the appliances locatedwithin the same room or common physical (or virtual) space. Thetransmission of sensor data may occur over one or more networks, whichmay or may not involve remote servers. At least one processor mayreceive sensor data from a sensor associated with the wearable extendedreality appliance or from some other sensor. At least one processor mayuse one or more programs or sets of program instructions to analyze datareceived from one or more sensors. For example, sensor data may bereceived by a processor within a server (e.g., server 210) from a firstwearable extended reality appliance, a second wearable extended realityappliance, or a third wearable extended reality appliance.Alternatively, sensor data may be received by the processor within theserver (e.g., server 210) from the first wearable extended realityappliance, the second wearable extended reality appliance, and the thirdwearable extended reality appliance. Sensor data may also be received bythe processor within the server (e.g., server 210) from a combination ofa plurality of wearable extended reality appliances. For example, thesensor data may be in the form of images from an image sensor associatedwith a wearable extended reality appliance or may be in the form ofvalues representing motion from a motion sensor associated with thewearable extended reality appliance.

In some embodiments, the sensor data may be received from a sensorseparated from the first wearable extended reality appliance, the secondwearable extended reality appliance, and the third wearable extendedreality appliance. A sensor may be considered to be “separated” from awearable extended reality appliance when it is divided, not linked, notconnected, or otherwise distinct from the wearable extended realityappliance. Non-limiting examples of a sensor that may be separated froma wearable extended reality appliance may include an infrastructuresensor mounted in a room (e.g., a physical conference room may haveinstalled image sensors) or a moveable sensor placed in a room. Themoveable sensor placed in a room may be a dedicated sensor configuredfor use with embodiments disclosed herein, or may be a sensor that istemporarily in the room, such as the camera on a laptop, phone, orwearable device other than a wearable extended reality appliance.

By way of example, FIG. 42A illustrates a sensor 4114 (e.g., two imagesensors on two different walls) that is separate from a first wearableextended reality appliance, a second wearable extended realityappliance, and a third wearable extended reality appliance. For example,a physical conference room 4100 may have the sensor 4114 in the form oftwo images sensors 4114 installed on two different walls. As illustratedin this example, the third wearable extended reality appliance is at athird location 4210. The third wearable extended reality appliance inthis example is associated with a user identity 4218.

In some embodiments, the sensor data may include image data captured byan image sensor. Further, the image data may be analyzed to determinethat at least one of the first wearable extended reality appliance, thesecond wearable extended reality appliance, or the third wearableextended reality appliance may be physically located in the room. Theanalysis of the image data may involve a processor executing a sequenceof stored instructions (e.g., a program) which takes inputs, process theinputs, and output the results to an output device. For example, atleast one processor may receive the image data capture by the imagesensor and may then execute a program in order to analyze the imagedata. For example, image data captured using an image sensor included ina particular wearable extended reality appliance (e.g., the first,second or third wearable extended reality appliance) may be analyzedusing an ego-positioning algorithm, an ego-motion algorithm or a visualodometry algorithm to determine that the particular wearable extendedreality appliance is in the room. In another example, image datacaptured using an image sensor not included in any wearable extendedreality appliance may be analyzed using an object recognition algorithmto identify at least one of the first, second or third wearable extendedreality appliance in the room.

Non-limiting examples of image data may include one or more images of awhole room, part of the room, of a wearable extended reality appliance,of more than one wearable extended reality appliance, or of otherobjects or people in the room. Alternatively, or additionally, thesensor data may include audio data (e.g., information derived from soundsignals) from an audio sensor (e.g., a microphone). Audio data, may, forexample, represent sound or may be derivatives of sound. Non-limitingexamples of audio data may include files in wave format, mp3 format, orWMA format. Or audio data may be information derived from a sound filesuch as a pattern or sound signature. A microphone may refer to aninstrument for converting sound waves into electrical energy variationswhich may then be amplified, transmitted, or recorded. Examples ofmicrophones may include dynamic microphones, condenser microphones, andribbon microphones. Either such a microphone or a processor thatreceives sound signals from the microphone may process the sounddigitally. For example, the audio sensor may be configured to collectaudio data which may then be analyzed by a processor associated with theaudio sensor. The analysis of the audio data may be recognize voices anddifferentiate between the recognized voices to determine that at leastone of the wearable extended reality appliances is physically located inthe room.

By way of example, FIG. 42A illustrates sensor 4114 in the form of twoimage sensors 4114 on two different walls in a physical conference room4100. For example, pixels of the images captured by the two imagesensors 4114 may be compared against one another to determine that aplurality of wearable extended reality appliances 4102 (e.g., threewearable extended reality appliances) are physically located in thephysical conference room 4100.

In some embodiments, the sensor data may be analyzed to determine thatat least one of the first wearable extended reality appliance, thesecond wearable extended reality appliance, or the third wearableextended reality appliance may be virtually located in the room, whereinthe determined location of the at least one wearable extended realityappliance virtually located in the room is reflective of a location ofan avatar of at least one user. An appliance may be considered virtuallylocated in a room if the appliance is not physically located in thatroom, but is participating (through information displayed) as ifphysically located in that room. The virtual presence may be representedby an avatar. An avatar may refer to a two-dimensional orthree-dimensional virtual figure or virtual icon representative a user.A location that is “reflective” of a location of an avatar may refer toa location that is indicative, expressive, exhibitive, or similarlydemonstrative of a location of that avatar. A user may refer to a personwearing an extended reality appliance. The determined location of the atleast one wearable extended reality appliance may refer to a position orplace within a coordinate system (e.g., a Cartesian coordinate system).For example, pixels of images captured by an image sensor may becompared to one another to determine that at least one of the wearableextended reality appliances may be virtually located in a room. Forexample, a user who is not physically located in a room will not bedetected by image sensors in the room. This is one way of using imagedata to determine that a participant is virtually located in a room. Insuch an instance, an avatar may appear virtually in place of aparticipant while other participants are physically located in the room.The avatar may be a virtual copy of the user, a character, or any othervirtual object representative of the user. For example, the avatar maybe an extended reality display of Yoda. The determined location of theat least one wearable extended reality appliance may be a location ofwhere the at least one user is in the different location.

By way of example. FIG. 43 illustrates a physical conference room 4100.FIG. 43 illustrates a position 4112 for displaying a virtual object 4104may be changed based on the room 4100 containing four wearable extendedreality appliances and a physical object 4124 blocking a view of thevirtual object 4104 and the position 4112 changing. For example, pixelsof the images captured by a sensor 4114 separated may be comparedagainst one another to determine that a fourth wearable extended realityappliance 4326 is virtually located in the physical conference room 4100and is reflective of a location of an avatar 4316 of at least one user.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve receiving a command to share avirtual object with the plurality of wearable extended realityappliances. A command may refer to a direction, an order, an act, or asimilar request or an indication of an intent or a need. To share avirtual object may refer to distributing, bestowing, sending, providing,or a similar act of showing the virtual object. A virtual object mayrefer to any type of data representation that may be displayed by awearable extended reality appliance to a user. Non-limiting examples ofthe virtual object may be an inanimate extended reality display, ananimate extended reality display configured to change over time or inresponse to triggers, virtual two-dimensional content, virtualthree-dimensional content, a virtual overlay over a portion of aphysical environment or over a physical object, a virtual addition to aphysical environment or to a physical object, a virtual promotioncontent, a virtual representation of a physical object, a virtualrepresentation of a physical environment, a virtual document, a virtualcharacter or persona, a virtual computer screen, a virtual widget, orany other format for displaying information virtually. In oneembodiment, the virtual object may be a visual presentation rendered bya computer in a confined region and configured to represent an object ofa particular type (such as an inanimate virtual object, an animatevirtual object, virtual furniture, a virtual decorative object, virtualwidget, or other virtual representation). The rendered visual object maychange to reflect changes to a status object or changes in the viewingangle of the object, for example, in a way that mimics changes in theappearance of physical objects. In another embodiment, the virtualobject may include a virtual computer screen configured to displayinformation. For example, the command may be determined from an analysisof a sensor data or from an analysis of input from an input device. Thesensor data may include image data captured using an image sensor andthe pixels of the images may be analyzed by at least one processor todetermine that text is present, or a user has gestured in a waycorresponding to a signal. The text and/or signal may be associated witha predetermined text or image for comparison to determine an associatedcommand. In some embodiments, a user may say “Share,” press a key on akeyboard or a screen, blink one or both eyes in a certain recognizablepattern or move a head to send a command to share the virtual object(e.g., a virtual display screen) with a plurality of wearable extendedreality appliances. Other examples of such commands for sharing virtualcontent are described in other portions of this disclosure.

By way of example. FIG. 41 illustrates an input device 4128 (e.g., aphysical keyboard) from which a command may be received from. Forexample, a user may press one or more keys of the input device 4128 toindicate a command to share a virtual object 4104 with a plurality ofwearable extended reality appliances 4102. The command may be receivedby any one of the plurality of wearable extended reality appliances 4102and transmitted from the input device 4128 by at least one processor.

In some embodiments, the virtual object may be a virtual display (alsoreferred to as a ‘virtual screen’ or a ‘virtual display screen’ herein)configured to present text entered using an input device, anddetermining the position for displaying the virtual display may befurther based on at least one of a location of the input device or anorientation of the input device. As discussed more fully in otherportions of this disclosure, an input device may include a button, key,keyboard, computer mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, joystick, or any othermechanism from which input may be received. For example, a position fordisplaying a virtual display may be based on at least one of a locationof the input device (e.g., a keyboard) or an orientation of the inputdevice so that a distance between the virtual display and the inputdevice is within a selected distance range from the input device, or anangle between a selected axis of the input device and a normal of thevirtual display is within a selected angular range. Non-limitingexamples of the selected range of distances may be one meter, twometers, or five meters. In another example, the position for displayingthe virtual display me be determined so that the input device will bebetween the user of the keyboard and the virtual display.

In some embodiments, the virtual object may be a virtual display (alsoreferred to as a ‘virtual screen’ or a ‘virtual display screen’ herein)configured to present text entered using an input device, the inputdevice may be positioned on a physical surface, and determining theposition for displaying the virtual display may be further based on acharacteristic of the physical surface. In some embodiments, thephysical surface may include, for example, an exterior, top, side,external, outward, or an outside part or uppermost layer of a physicalobject. Some non-limiting examples of physical surfaces may include atable, a desk, a bed, a floor, a counter, a wall, and any other physicalobject having a surface. The characteristic of the physical may refer toa quality or trait that is distinctive, innate, unique, indicative,typical, or another feature or quality. Non-limiting examples of acharacteristic of a physical surface may be a size of the physicalsurface, a location of an edge of the physical surface, a type of thephysical surface, a texture of the physical surface, a shape of thephysical surface, or any other identifying feature of the physicalsurface. Non-limiting examples of physical surfaces may include asurface of a dining table, a desk, a bar, a bed, a chair, a floor, abook, or a folding table. For example, a virtual object may be a virtualdisplay (also referred to as a ‘virtual screen’ or a ‘virtual displayscreen’ herein) configured to present text (e.g., the texted typed bythe user) when a user clicks on keys of a keyboard. For example, theinput device may be positioned on a physical surface (e.g., a desk) andthe determined position for displaying the virtual display me be basedon the physical surface being a desk and not a bed. In some exampleswith the desk, a virtual display may be positioned at an end of the deskaway from the user. In such an instance, the detected edge of the deskand/or sides of the desk may aid in determining the position of thevirtual display. In other examples with a physical surface of a bed, thevirtual display may be positioned above the bed so that the user may layin the bed and see the virtual display by looking upward.

By way of example, FIG. 41 illustrates a virtual object 4104 as avirtual display configured to present text entered using an input device4128 (e.g., a keyboard). A position 4112 for displaying the virtualobject 4104 is based on at least one of a location of the input device4128 or an orientation of the input device 4128 so that a distancebetween the virtual object 4104 and the input device 4128 is within aselected range of distances.

Some disclosed embodiments may include analyzing the sensor data todetermine a first location in the room of a first wearable extendedreality appliance, a second location in the room of a second wearableextended reality appliance, and a third location in the room of a thirdwearable extended reality appliance. Any number (such as three) wearableextended reality appliances may be co-located in the same room or commonspace. In order to present information to each from perspectivescorresponding to their unique locations, or for other uses, theirlocations may be determined. To this end, sensor data from the types ofsensors described earlier may be used to identify each location of eachwearable extended reality appliance. A single sensor may detectinformation from which all appliance locations may be determined, ordata from multiple sensors may be aggregated to determine the locationsof each wearable extended reality appliance. In some cases, data fromthe sensor in one appliance may be used to determine a location ofanother appliance and vice versa. Physical attributes of the room mayalso be used in location determination. For example, sensor data may beused to identify corners of a room or other physical attributes of theroom, and the wearable extended reality appliances may be locatedrelative to those physical attributes. Non-limiting examples of othersuch physical attributes may include the placement of furniture or otherobjects. Thus, pixels of images from an image sensor may be analyzed,for example using a visual object localization algorithm, to determine afirst location in the room of a first wearable extended realityappliance, a second location in the room of a second wearable extendedreality appliance, and a third location in the room of a third wearableextended reality appliance. In another example, the locations of thefirst, second or third wearable extended reality appliances may bedetermined in a coordinate system, such as a global coordinate system, acoordinate system of an extended reality environment, and so forth.

For context, FIG. 42A includes a room 4100 and parts or the entirety ofthe room 4100 may be described in one or more examples to illustrateparts of the room 4100 in regard to a disclosed embodiment.Additionally, FIG. 42A illustrates the room 4100 with a sensor 4114separated from a plurality of wearable extended reality devices 4102.Specifically, sensor 4114 separated includes two image sensors 4114 ontwo different walls in the room 4100. For example, pixels of images fromthe sensors 4114 separated may be analyzed to determine a first location4106 in the room 4100 of a first wearable extended reality device, asecond location 4108 in the room 4100 of a second wearable extendedreality device, and a third location 4210 in the room 4100 of a thirdwearable extended reality device.

Some disclosed embodiments may include determining a position fordisplaying the virtual object in the room based on the determined firstlocation, the determined second location, and the determined thirdlocation. A display position may be determined based on the locations ofeach wearable extended reality appliance. For example, if threeappliances are arranged side by side at a conference room table, aprocessor may determine that the best position to display the screen isopposite the three appliances as opposed to on a perpendicular side endof the table. Such a determination may take into account the fields ofview of each wearable extended reality appliance. In some instances, thedetermination may take into account articles in the room. For example,if an easel displaying a whiteboard is immediately opposite users ofwearable extended reality appliances, the determined placement may besuch so as not to block the white board on the easel. Non-limitingexamples of a position for displaying a virtual object in a room basedon the determined locations may include a position between thedetermined locations, a position of intersection between the determinedlocations, a position closer to one of the determined locations, aposition closer to two of the determined locations, a position furthestaway from the determined locations, or a position closest to thedetermined locations. For example, if the three determined locationsform a triangle, the position for displaying the virtual object in theroom may be in the middle of the triangle. In another example, when thethree determined locations form a single line or row, the position fordisplaying the virtual object in the room may be parallel and in frontof the line or row.

By way of example. FIG. 42A illustrates a determined position 4112 fordisplaying a virtual object 4104 in a room 4100 based on a determinedfirst location 4106, a determined second location 4108, and a determinedthird location 4210. For example, the determined position 4112 is at acorner of the room 4100 between the determined first location 4106, thedetermined second location 4108, and the determined third location 4210.

In some embodiments, the determined position for displaying the virtualobject may include a determined orientation of the virtual object in theroom, and additional sensor data may be analyzed to determine that atleast two of the first wearable extended reality appliance, the secondwearable extended reality appliance, or the third wearable extendedreality appliance changed orientation or location, and adjusting thedetermined orientation of the virtual object may be based on theorientation or location change. Orientation may refer to direction orthe relative position of an object or individual. Individuals tend tochange their orientations over time, by shifting their focus, turningtheir bodies, or changing their posture. When they do, the changes mayimpact a virtual presentation. Similarly, individuals may change theirlocations by moving from one spot to another. Sensor data may be used todetermine that one or more of the wearable virtual reality applianceschanged orientation or location, for example, if a user shifts in achair so that the user's body position turns to the right, and anotheruser's body position shifts to the left, the orientational movements maybe detected, and a virtual display may shift to accommodate the newpositions. Such orientational changes may be determined based onanalysis of image data from one or more of the sensors describedearlier, and the virtual object may be reoriented to accommodate theorientational changes of one or more users. Similar adjustments may bemade for locational changes. For example, if two users were to move fromone side of the room to another closer to a third user, a virtualdisplay that was originally centered in the room may shift toward thecenter of the reoriented group. Or if a group encircles a virtualobject, and some of the group members shift so that the center of theencirclement changes, the virtual object may move toward the new centerFurther, pixels from additional images from an image sensor may beanalyzed to determine that at least two of a first wearable extendedreality appliance, a second wearable extended reality appliance, or athird wearable extended reality appliance (which may include theindividual wearing the appliance) changed orientation (e.g., from facingthe center of the room to facing the door of the room). In someembodiments the determined orientation of the virtual object may beadjusted based on the orientation changes so that the virtual objectalso faces the door of the room.

By way of example, FIG. 41 illustrates a determined position 4112 fordisplaying a virtual object 4104 which may include a determinedorientation (e.g., facing two users) of the virtual object 4104 in aroom 4100. For example, pixels of images from additional images fromsensors 4114 separated from wearable extended reality appliances may beanalyzed by an at least one processor to determine that at least two ofa first wearable extended reality appliance, a second wearable extendedreality appliance, or a third wearable extended reality appliancechanged orientation (e.g., from facing two users to facing three users).The determined orientation of the virtual object 4104 may be adjusted tofacing three users in the room 4100 based on the orientation changes sothat the virtual object 4104 still faces the users.

By way of example, FIG. 41 illustrates a determined position 4112 fordisplaying a virtual object 4104 that includes a determined location(e.g., a corner of the room 4100) of the virtual object 4104 in a room4100. For example, pixels from additional images from a sensor 4114separated from wearable extended reality appliances may be analyzed todetermine that at least two of a first wearable extended realityappliance, a second wearable extended reality appliance, or a thirdwearable extended reality appliance changed location (e.g., a third userentered the room). The determined location of the virtual object 4104may be adjusted in the room 4100 based on the location changes so thatthe virtual object 4104 is not occluded.

Some disclosed embodiments may include causing a first display of thevirtual object at the determined position through the first wearableextended reality appliance, the first display being rendered from afirst perspective. Additionally other disclosed embodiments may includecausing a second display of the virtual object at the determinedposition through the second wearable extended reality appliance, thesecond display being rendered from a second perspective different fromthe first perspective. Still further, additional disclosed embodimentsmay include causing a third display of the virtual object at thedetermined position through the third wearable extended realityappliance, the third display being rendered from a third perspectivedifferent from the first perspective and the second perspective. Adisplay that is rendered from a perspective may refer to a displaydelivered, depicted, or presented due to or because of an angle, aspect,context, viewpoint, or a similar point of view. In some embodiments,perspectives are simulated in the virtual world as they would appear inthe real world. In the real world, three individuals sitting indifferent locations in the same room and viewing an object will each seethe object somewhat differently, depending on their relative positions.In some disclosed embodiments, computer readable medium running on atleast one processor collects data from sensors to determine differinglocations or orientations of different wearers of extended realityappliances, and renders the view of each differently, to effectivelysimulate the perspectives they would see if viewing a real object fromtheir respective orientations. Non-limiting examples of a display thatis rendered from a perspective may include the display positioned to theleft, the center, the right, higher up, or lower down from a user'sfocal point. A first display of the virtual object, a second display ofthe virtual object, and a third display of the virtual object renderedfrom their own perspective, respectively may be the same display.Alternatively, the first display of the virtual object, the seconddisplay of the virtual object, and the third display of the virtualobject rendered from their own perspective, respectively may bedifferent versions of the display. For example, the first display of thevirtual object at a determined position through a first wearableextended reality appliance, rendered from the first perspective may beof the virtual object positioned lower in height in reference to thewearable extended reality appliance. As another example, the seconddisplay of the virtual object at a determined position through a secondwearable extended reality appliance, rendered from the secondperspective may be of the virtual object positioned higher in referenceto the wearable extended reality appliance and straight in front of thewearable extended reality appliance. As yet another example, the thirddisplay of the virtual object at a determined position through a thirdwearable extended reality appliance, rendered from the third perspectivemay be of the virtual object positioned higher in reference to thewearable extended reality appliance and to the side of the wearableextended reality appliance. In some examples, the first perspective,second perspective and third perspective may be selected so that usersof the first, second and third wearable extended reality appliances mayall see a first portion of the virtual object at the same first positionin the room, a second portion of the virtual object at the same secondposition in the room, and a third portion of the virtual object at thesame third position in the room. For example, the first perspective,second perspective and third perspective may be selected so mimic thedifferent projections of the objects when viewed from differentpositions in the room (for example, from the positions of the first,second and third wearable extended reality appliances, respectively).

By way of example, FIG. 42B illustrates a first display of a virtualobject 4104 at a determined position 4112 through a first wearableextended reality appliance. In this example, the first display may berendered from a first perspective of the virtual object 4104 positionedat an angle where the left side of the virtual object 4104 is closer tothe first wearable extended reality appliance than the right side. Byway of example, FIG. 42B also illustrates a second display of thevirtual object 4104 at a determined position 4112 through a secondwearable extended reality appliance. In this example, the second displaymay be rendered from a second perspective of the virtual object 4104where the right side of the virtual object 4104 is almost as close asthe left side of the virtual object 4104. By way of example, FIG. 42Billustrates a third display of the virtual object 4104 at a determinedposition 4112 through a third wearable extended reality appliance. Inthis example, the third display may be rendered from a third perspectiveof the virtual object 4104 positioned where the right side of thevirtual object 4104 is closer to the third wearable extended realityappliance than the left side.

Some disclosed embodiments may include determining an identity of atleast one of a user of the first wearable extended reality appliance, auser of the second wearable extended reality appliance, or a user of thethird wearable extended reality appliance; and wherein determining theposition for displaying the virtual object may be further based on theidentity of the at least one user. Each user may have different physicalcharacteristics and different preferences. A system may storeinformation relating to those characteristics and preferences and alterthe display based on them. For example, some users may prefer to sitfarther from a screen. Other users may prefer to view two adjacentscreens in an angled rather than linear arrangement. For example, byidentifying particular users, a lookup may occur in a data structure ofthe user's characteristics/preferences, and the virtual display may beadjusted for each user accordingly.

By way of another example, the identity of the at least one user mayrefer to a status or title or other classification. Informationdisplayed to individuals in the same virtual room may differ based ontheir class. Higher ups, for example, may be presented with financialdata that may not be presented to others. Non-limiting examples of anidentity may include a boss, a manager, an employee, a partner, anassociate, an owner, a non-employee, an independent contractor, alicensee, a licensor, or a relative. The same data may be presenteddifferently based on identity. For example, if the user's identity isthat of a partner, the position for displaying the virtual object may bedirectly in front of or closer to the partner so that the partner hasthe best or most clear view of the virtual object.

By way of example, FIG. 42A illustrates an identity 4218 (e.g., apartner) of at least one of a user of a first wearable extended realityappliance, a user of a second wearable extended reality appliance, or auser of a third wearable extended reality appliance. For example, whenthe determined identity 4218 of the user is a partner, a position 4112for displaying a virtual object 4104 may be in clear view for thepartner.

Some disclosed embodiments may include determining a physicalcharacteristic of at least one user of the first wearable extendedreality appliance, the second wearable extended reality appliance, orthe third wearable extended reality appliance; and wherein determiningthe position for displaying the virtual object may be further based onthe physical characteristic of the at least one user. Non-limitingexamples of physical characteristics may include the height of the atleast one user or disabilities of the at least one user. For example,when a determined physical characteristic of a user is tall (which meansthat the user is used to looking at objects from a higher vantage point)virtual objects may be presented lower in the field of view on that talluser's wearable extended reality appliance. If the determined physicalcharacteristic is that a user is near-sighted, the position fordisplaying the virtual object may be closer to that user so that theuser may clearly see the virtual object. For example, if the determinedphysical characteristic is that the at least one user has hearingproblems, the position for displaying the virtual object may be closerto the at least one user so that sounds associated with the virtualobject are closer to the user.

Some disclosed embodiments may include determining a layout of the roomthat may involve one or more physical locations of furniture in theroom, and wherein the position for displaying the virtual object may befurther determined based on the layout of the room. A layout may referto an arrangement, format, configuration, design, or way in which a roomset up. An example of a layout may include four chairs, a desk, and apresentation board. Non-limiting examples of furniture may include oneor more chairs, desks, plants, and a presentation board. A position of avirtual object (e.g., a virtual display screen) may be determined basedon the layout of the room. If four chairs are detected (via sensors andprocessing described earlier) as arranged in a U-shape, a processor maydetermine that a virtual object such as a virtual screen should bepositioned opposite the open end of the U. In one example, the positionfor displaying the virtual object may be strategically placed to avoidocclusion of at least part of the virtual object by furniture in theroom. In another example, the position of the virtual object may on asurface of an object, such as a wall or a table. In yet another example,an egress such as door to the room may be taken into account whenpositioning a virtual object so that persons entering or leaving theroom avoid colliding with the virtual object.

By way of example, FIG. 42A illustrates a layout of a room 4100 that mayinclude one or more physical locations of furniture 4120 in the room4100. For example, the layout of the room 4100 may include two chairs, adesk, and a vase of plants (that serves an example of a physical object4124). Further, a position 4112 for displaying a virtual object 4104 maybe further determined based on the layout of the room 4100 that mayinvolve the one or more physical locations of furniture 4120.Advantageously, the position 4112 for displaying the virtual object 4104may be in front of the one or more physical locations of furniture 4120in the room 4100.

Some disclosed embodiments may include determining illuminationconditions in the room, and the position for displaying the virtualobject may further be determined based on the illumination conditions.An illumination condition may refer to the state of the room'sbrightness, radiance, glittering, glowing, or similar lighting level.Non-limiting examples of illumination conditions may include thelighting level of two overhead lights in a single room. For example, toavoid glare, a position for displaying a virtual object (e.g., a virtualdisplay screen) may be based on illumination conditions so that theposition for display avoids a direct light source with respect to auser. In another example, the determined illumination conditions in theroom may be dim or dark so that the position for displaying the virtualobject (e.g., a virtual movie screen) is based on the dimness ordarkness and positioned in a darker area in the room. Alternatively, inanother example, the determined illumination conditions in the room maybe bright or well-lit so that the position for displaying the virtualobject (e.g., a virtual object with a text document) is based on thebright conditions and positioned in a brighter area in the room forusers to read the text easier. In yet another example, the determinedillumination conditions may include locations of borders between shadedand non-shaded areas and the position for displaying the virtual objectmay be determined so that the virtual object is not across the border.Further, in another example, the determined illumination conditions mayinclude an indication that the borders are about to move (for example,due to motion of the sun), and the position for displaying the virtualobject may be determined so that the virtual object is not across theborder during a selected time duration.

By way of example, FIG. 44 illustrates illumination conditions 4422 in aroom 4100. The illumination conditions 4422 may be provided by twooverhanging lights in the room 4100. For example, a position 4112 fordisplaying a virtual object 4104 may further be determined based on theillumination conditions 4422 so that the determined position 4112 avoidsglare or a direct light source with respect to a user of a wearableextended reality appliance.

Some disclosed embodiments may include determining a type of the virtualobject, and the position for displaying the virtual object may furtherbe determined based on the type of the virtual object. Non-limitingexamples of a type of a virtual object may include animate virtualobjects, inanimate virtual objects, two-dimensional virtual objects,three-dimensional virtual objects, virtual characters, virtualenvironments, virtual documents, virtual display screens, virtualwidgets, or virtual overlays of a portion or whole of a physicalenvironment or physical object. For example, the determined type ofvirtual object may be a virtual display screen and a position fordisplaying the virtual display screen may be determined on a wall of aroom, for example because the virtual object is a virtualtwo-dimensional virtual display screen. In another example, thedetermined type of virtual object may be a three-dimensional product andthe position for displaying the virtual solar system may be determinedin the middle of the room to permit three-dimensional virtual viewing.In yet another example, the determined type of virtual object may bevirtual rain and the position for displaying the virtual rain may bedetermined as falling or originating from the top of the room andfalling to the ground of the room, for example because the type of thevirtual object is rain.

By way of example. FIG. 41 illustrates a type (e.g., a virtual displayscreen, a two-dimensional virtual object, a three-dimensional virtualobject, etc.) of a virtual object 4104 and a position 4112 fordisplaying the virtual object 4104 may further be determined based onthe type of the virtual object 4104. For example, the determined type ofvirtual object 4104 may be a virtual display screen and the position4112 for displaying the virtual object 4104 may be determined in thecorner of the room as a virtual two-dimensional object.

Some disclosed embodiments may include analyzing the sensor data toidentify a physical object in the room and the position for displayingthe virtual object may be determined so that none of the first display,the second display, and the third display may be occluded by thephysical object. A ray casting algorithm may be used to determine theposition in which none of the first display, the second display, and thethird display are occluded by the physical object. Occluded may refer toblocked, prevented, or a similar obstruction. Non-limiting examples ofphysical objects may be a user, a piece of furniture (e.g., a chair,table, or door), a laptop, food, a drink, a presentation board. Forexample, pixels of images from an image sensor may be analyzed toidentify a physical object (e.g., a row of chairs). Further, a positionfor displaying a virtual object (e.g., a virtual display screen) may bedetermined to be higher on a wall of a room so that none of a firstdisplay, a second display, and a third display may be occluded by therow of chairs. In another example, pixels of images from an image sensormay be analyzed to identify the physical object (e.g., a presentationboard). Further, a position for displaying a virtual object may bedetermined to be moved slightly to the left so that none of the firstdisplay, the second display, and the third display may be occluded bythe presentation board.

By way of example, FIG. 43 illustrates a room 4100 with a sensor 4114separated and a physical object 4124. For example, pixels of images fromthe sensor 4114 separated may be analyzed to identify the physicalobject 4124. Further, a position 4112 for displaying the virtual object4124 may be determined to be moved to the left of the physical object4124 so that none of a first display, a second display, and a thirddisplay may be occluded by the physical object 4124.

Some disclosed embodiments may include analyzing the sensor data toidentity a physical object in the room, and the position for displayingthe virtual object may be determined so that none of the first display,the second display, and the third display occlude the physical object.For example, pixels of images from an image sensor may be analyzed toidentify a physical object (e.g., a user, a plant, artwork, orfurniture). Further, a position for displaying a virtual object (e.g., avirtual display screen) may be determined to shift or move away from theuser so that none of a first display, a second display, and a thirddisplay occlude the user. A ray casting algorithm may be used todetermine the position in which none of the first display, the seconddisplay, and the third display occlude the physical object.

By way of example, FIG. 43 illustrates a room 4100 with a sensor 4114separated and a physical object 4124. For example, pixels of images fromthe sensor 4114 separated may be analyzed to identify the physicalobject 4124. Further, a position 4112 for displaying the virtual object4124 may be determined to be moved to the left of the physical object4124 so that none of a first display, a second display, and a thirddisplay may occlude the physical object 4124.

In some embodiments, the first display of the virtual object, the seconddisplay of the virtual object, and the third display of the virtualobject may be associated with a single version of the virtual object.Additionally, a change, introduced by a user of the first wearableextended reality appliance to the virtual object may be detected.Further, the second display and the third display may be updated toreflect the change to the virtual object introduced by the user of thefirst wearable extended reality appliance. Displays may be associatedwith a single version if each display presents the same subject matter,even if viewed from differing perspectives. A user may introduce achange may adding material, virtually drawing on or coloring an object,rotating or translating the object, or otherwise modifying the object.When all users are presented with a single version and that singleversion is altered by one user, the alteration may be displayed to otherusers through each user's wearable extended reality appliance. Forexample, a first display of a virtual object (e.g., a virtual displayscreen), a second display of the virtual object, and a third display ofthe virtual object may be associated with a single version (e.g., asingle view) of the virtual object so that each display is identical toeach user, even after one user makes a change to the virtual object.Additionally, a user of a first wearable extended reality appliance maybe advancing between virtual slides of a virtual slideshow on thevirtual display screen and this change may be detected by a sensorconnected to at least one of the first wearable extended realityappliance, a second wearable extended reality appliance, and a thirdwearable extended reality appliance. In another example, the virtualobject may be a virtual display, and the change may include apresentation of text entered by the first user using a physicalkeyboard. In another example, the change may be introduced by a usage ofa marking implement. Further, the second display and the third displaymay be updated to reflect the new virtual slide of the virtualpresentation introduced by the user of the first wearable extendedreality appliance.

In some embodiments, the first display of the virtual object, the seconddisplay of the virtual object, and the third display of the virtualobject may be associated with different versions of the virtual object.Additionally, a profile associated with a user of the first wearableextended reality appliance, a profile associated with a user the secondwearable extended reality appliance, and a profile associated with auser of the third wearable extended reality appliance may be obtained.Further, a personalized version of the virtual object based on theprofile associated with each user may be determined. In the priorexample discussed, a single version of a virtual object was presented toall users. In this example, each user may be presented with a uniqueversion depending on the user's preferences. For example, some users mayhave color preferences and those preferences may be carried through totheir unique presentations via a look up of those preferences in a datastructure which then causes alteration of the display to correspond tothose preferences. Other users may have disabilities that may causetheir virtual content to be displayed differently from others. Forexample, blinking and flashing may be avoided on virtual displays ofindividuals who have epilepsy to avoid a risk of seizure. Word spacingmay change on displays of individuals with dyslexia. These are justexamples of profile information that may be stored in a data structurethat is accessed to determine how virtual objects will be displayed.

Different versions may refer to different details of a virtual object.In other words, different versions may present different points of viewof the virtual object. The display may thus be impacted by a profilewhich may include indications of permission level (e.g., top-secret),accessibility limitations (e.g., confidential information), orpreferences to color scheme or disabilities (e.g., color blind). Forexample, a first display of a virtual object, a second display of thevirtual object, and a third display of the virtual object may beassociated with different versions of the virtual object. A profile foreach user of a wearable extended reality appliance may be obtained. Forexample, the first profile may be a top-secret permission level, thesecond profile may be restricted to non-confidential information, andthe third profile may indicate that the third user is color blind. Forexample, the personalized version of the virtual object may be based onthe determined profiles associated with each user. Advantageously, thefirst profile may see all information presented since he or she has atop-secret permission level. The second profile may see only some orpart of the information because he or she is restricted tonon-confidential information. The third profile may see the virtualobject differently because of a color-blind mode.

Some disclosed embodiments may include receiving additional sensor dataindicating a change to a status of the third wearable extended realityappliance, while the virtual object is displayed at the determinedposition through the first wearable extended reality appliance andthrough the second wearable extended reality appliance. Further, thevirtual object may be repositioned based on the determined firstlocation of the first wearable extended reality appliance and thedetermined second location of the second wearable extended realityappliance. A change to a status may include leaving a room, switchingoff, switching to a different extended reality environment not includingthe virtual object, and similar changes to a wearable extended realityappliance. For example, while a virtual object may be displayed at adetermined position through a first wearable extended reality applianceand through a second wearable extended reality appliance, additionalpixels of images from an image sensor may be received indicating thatthe third wearable extended reality appliance has switched off. Further,the virtual object may be repositioned based on a determined firstlocation of the first wearable extended reality appliance and adetermined second location of the second wearable extended realityappliance. In another example, additional pixels of images from theimage sensor may be received indicating that the third wearable extendedreality appliance is no longer in the room because the user has left theroom with third wearable extended reality appliance. In yet anotherexample, additional pixels of images from the image sensor may bereceived indicating that the third wearable extended reality applianceis longer in the room because the virtual user (e.g., avatar) has leftthe room with the third wearable extended reality appliance.

By way of example, FIG. 41 illustrates a virtual object 4104 displayedat a determined position 4112 through a first wearable extended realityappliance and through a second wearable extended reality appliance. Forexample, while the virtual object 4104 is displayed, additional pixelsof images from a sensor 4114 separated from a plurality of wearableextended reality appliances 4102 may be received indicating that a thirdwearable extended reality appliance is no longer in a room 4100.Further, the virtual object 4104 may be repositioned based on adetermined first location 4106 of the first wearable extended realityappliance and the determined second location 4108 of the second wearableextended reality appliance.

Some disclosed embodiments may include receiving additional sensor dataindicating that a fourth wearable extended reality appliance may be inthe room, while the virtual object is displayed at the determinedposition. Further, other disclosed embodiments may include determining afourth location of the fourth wearable extended reality appliance, whilethe virtual object is displayed at the determined position. Further, thevirtual object may be repositioned based on the determined firstlocation, the determined second location, the determined third location,and the determined fourth location. For example, while a virtual objectis displayed at a determined position, additional pixels of images froman image sensor may be received and analyzed to determine that a fourthwearable extended reality appliance is in a room. Further, the fourthlocation of the fourth wearable extended reality appliance may bedetermined and the virtual object may be repositioned in the room basedon the determined first location, the determined second location, thedetermined third location, and the determined fourth location so thatthe position is in the middle of all the determined locations for clearview.

By way of example, FIG. 43 illustrates a virtual object 4104 displayedat a determined position 4112. For example, while the virtual object4104 is displayed, additional pixels of images from a sensor 4114separated may be received and analyzed to determine that a fourthwearable extended reality appliance 4326 is in a room 4100. Further, thefourth location of the fourth wearable extended reality appliance 4326may be determined and the virtual object 4104 may be repositioned in theroom 4100 based on a determined first location 4106, a determined secondlocation 4108, a determined third location 4210, and the determinedfourth location so that the position 4112 is in the middle of all thedetermined locations for clear view.

Some disclosed embodiments may be executed by the first wearableextended reality appliance, wherein causing the first display mayinclude generating display signals, causing the second display mayinclude transmitting data reflecting the virtual object to the secondwearable extended reality appliance, and causing the third display mayinclude transmitting data reflecting the virtual object to the thirdwearable extended reality appliance. Display signals may include, forexample, analog or digital electrical signals that may cause a displaydevice to present content in the form of a virtual or digitalrepresentation. The virtual or digital representation may include, forexample, one or more still or moving images, text, icons, video, or anycombination thereof. The graphical display may be two-dimensional,three-dimensional, holographic, or may include various other types ofvisual characteristics. The first wearable extended reality appliancemay cause one or more analog or digital signals to be generated ortransmitted to a display device for presenting the graphical display forviewing by a user. Generate may refer to produce or cause something toarise or come about or any other production of a thing. To transmit mayrefer to cause something to pass on from one place or thing to another,to broadcast or send out something from one place or thing to another,or another way of sending something. In some embodiments, the displaydevice may include a wearable extended reality appliance. For example,the at least one processor may cause one or more analog or digitalsignals to be generated and transmitted to the display device forpresenting a movie, an emoji, a video, a text, or any combinationthereof. While, some embodiments could rely on a central server toprocess image signals and update all extended wearable realityappliances sharing a common presentation, in other embodiments, displaysignal processing may be relegated to one of the extended realityappliances which may then transmit display signals to the other of theextended reality appliances. Alternatively, multiple wearable extendedreality appliances may share image signal processing responsibility anddistribute updated display signals to the other appliances.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method forpresenting virtual content to multiple viewers may be provided. In someembodiments, the method may be implemented by at least one processorthat executes program instructions. The method may include receivingsensor data indicative of a plurality of wearable extended realityappliances located in a room. The method may further include receiving acommand to share a virtual object with the plurality of wearableextended reality appliances. The method may additionally includeanalyzing the sensor data to determine a first location in the room of afirst wearable extended reality appliance, a second location in the roomof a second wearable extended reality appliance, and a third location inthe room of a third wearable extended reality appliance. The method mayinclude determining a position for displaying the virtual object in theroom based on the determined first location, the determined secondlocation, and the determined third location. The method may also includecausing a first display of the virtual object at the determined positionthrough the first wearable extended reality appliance, the first displaymay be rendered from a first perspective. The method may include causinga second display of the virtual object at the determined positionthrough the second wearable extended reality appliance, the seconddisplay may be rendered from a second perspective different from thefirst perspective. The method may also include causing a third displayof the virtual object at the determined position through the thirdwearable extended reality appliance, the third display being renderedfrom a third perspective different from the first perspective and thesecond perspective.

FIG. 45 illustrates an exemplary method 4530 for presenting virtualcontent to multiple viewers. Method 4530 may be performed by one or moreor more processing devices (e.g., 360, 460, or 560) associated withinput unit 202 (see FIG. 3), XR unit 204 (see FIG. 4), and/or remoteprocessing unit 208 (see FIG. 5). The steps of the disclosed method 4530may be modified in any manner, including by reordering steps and/orinserting or deleting steps.

Method 4530 may include a step 4532 of receiving sensor data indicativeof a plurality of wearable extended reality appliances 4102 located in aroom 4100. Method 4530 may include a step 4534 of receiving a command toshare a virtual object 4104 with the plurality of wearable extendedreality appliances 4102. Method 4530 may include a step 4536 ofanalyzing the sensor data to determine a first location 4106 in the room4100 of a first wearable extended reality appliance, a second location4108 in the room 4100 of a second wearable extended reality appliance,and a third location 4210 in the room 4100 of a third wearable extendedreality appliance. Method 4530 may include a step 4538 of determining aposition 4112 for displaying the virtual object 4104 in the room 4100based on the determined first location 4106, the determined secondlocation 4108, and the determined third location 4210. Method 4530 mayinclude a step 4540 of causing a first display of the virtual object4104 at the determined position 4112 through the first wearable extendedreality appliance, the first display may be rendered from a firstperspective. Method 4530 may include a step 4542 of causing a seconddisplay of the virtual object 4104 at the determined position 4112through the second wearable extended reality appliance, the seconddisplay may be rendered from a second perspective different from thefirst perspective. Method 4530 may include a step 4544 of causing athird display of the virtual object 4104 at the determined position 4112through the third wearable extended reality appliance, the third displaybeing rendered from a third perspective different from the firstperspective and the second perspective.

FIG. 46 illustrates another exemplary method 4630 for presenting virtualcontent to multiple viewers. Method 4630 may be performed by one or moreor more processing devices (e.g., 360, 460, or 560) associated withinput unit 202 (see FIG. 3), XR unit 204 (see FIG. 4), and/or remoteprocessing unit 208 (see FIG. 5). The steps of the disclosed method 4630may be modified in any manner, including by reordering steps and/orinserting or deleting steps. Method 4630 may include a step 4532 ofreceiving sensor data indicative of a plurality of wearable extendedreality appliances 4102 located in a room 4100. Method 4630 may includea step 4650 where the sensor data may be received from at least one of afirst wearable extended reality appliance, a second wearable extendedreality appliance, or a third wearable extended reality appliance.

FIG. 47 illustrates another exemplary method 4730 for presenting virtualcontent to multiple viewers. Method 4730 may be performed by one or moreor more processing devices (e.g., 360, 460, or 560) associated withinput unit 202 (see FIG. 3), XR unit 204 (see FIG. 4), and/or remoteprocessing unit 208 (see FIG. 5). The steps of the disclosed method 4730may be modified in any manner, including by reordering steps and/orinserting or deleting steps. Method 4730 may include a step 4544 ofcausing a third display of the virtual object 4104 at the determinedposition 4112 through the third wearable extended reality appliance, thethird display being rendered from a third perspective different from thefirst perspective and the second perspective. Method 4730 may include astep 4752 of determining a physical characteristic of at least one userof a first wearable extended reality appliance, a second wearableextended reality appliance, or a third wearable extended realityappliance; and wherein determining a position 4112 for displaying thevirtual object 4104 may be further based on the physical characteristicof the at least one user.

FIG. 48 illustrates another exemplary method 4830 for presenting virtualcontent to multiple viewers. Method 4830 may be performed by one or moreor more processing devices (e.g., 360, 460, or 560) associated withinput unit 202 (see FIG. 3), XR unit 204 (see FIG. 4), and/or remoteprocessing unit 208 (see FIG. 5). The steps of the disclosed method 4830may be modified in any manner, including by reordering steps and/orinserting or deleting steps. Method 4830 may include a step 4544 ofcausing a third display of a virtual object 4104 at the determinedposition 4112 through the third wearable extended reality appliance, thethird display being rendered from a third perspective different from thefirst perspective and the second perspective. Method 4830 may include astep 4854 wherein a first display of the virtual object 4104, a seconddisplay of the virtual object 4104, a third display of the virtualobject 4104 may be associated with a single version of the virtualobject 4104. Further, step 4854 may include detecting a change to thevirtual object 4104 introduced by a user of the first wearable extendedreality appliance, and updating the second display and the third displayto reflect the change to the virtual object 4104 introduced by the userof the first wearable extended reality appliance. Method 4830 mayinclude a step 4856 wherein the first display of the virtual object4104, the second display of the virtual object 4104, the third displayof the virtual object 4104 may be associated with different versions ofthe virtual object 4104. Further, step 4856 may include obtaining aprofile associated with a user of the first wearable extended realityappliance, a profile associated with a user of the second wearableextended reality appliance, and a profile associated with a user of thethird wearable extended reality appliance, and determining apersonalized version of the virtual object 4104 based on the profileassociated with each user.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve systems, methods, andnon-transitory computer readable media configured for making virtualcolored markings on objects. Virtual markings may broadly include anyvisual representation simulating in an extended reality environmentwriting/coloring/painting implement markings that exist in the physicalworld. Examples of types of virtual markings may include textualmarkings (e.g., words, sentences), punctuation markings (e.g., dots,commas), format markings (e.g., underlines, highlights), emoji markings(e.g., smiley, symbols), drawing markings (e.g., free hand sketchingsuch as lines, figures, symbols, or any other individual or set ofvisible traces such as would occur in the physical world with pens,pencils, markers, chalk, or any other writing implement), colorization(such as might occur in the physical world with crayons, markers orpaint brushes), texturizations (such as the addition of surfacetreatments). The virtual markings may be associated with one or morecolors which may be rendered by software on top of one or more objects.The objects on which the virtual markings are drawn may refer to anyphysical or virtual items having a form which may be observed. Forinstance, an object may be an extended reality display of a 2D item or3D item (e.g., a document, an image, a video, a virtual model, a shape,or any other intangible object) or a physical item, (e.g., food,furniture, a wall, a landscape, or any other tangible object).

Some disclosed embodiments may include receiving an indication of anobject. An indication of an object may refer to any data which mayprovide evidence of the existence of an object. The indication of theobject may include type of data that enable identification of theobject. The indication may include a location, form, color, size,distance to, material composition, and any other attribute which maydescribe the object. In some embodiments, the indication of the objectmay include one or more images of the object. The indication of theobject may be received via a communications network, as described ingreater detail herein. An indication of an object may be received, forexample, via an image sensor that identifies an object in a field ofview in the physical world. In another example, an indication of anobject may be received from a rendering of an extended reality spacethat includes a virtual object, from a data-structure of virtual objectsin an extended reality space, from an external device controlling theextended reality space, and so forth. By way of example, remoteprocessing unit 208 of FIG. 5 may receive an indication of an object viacommunications network 214. An indication of object may be a signalcreated by remote processing unit 208, XR unit 204, or input unit 202depicted in FIG. 2 to generate a virtual object or an identification ofa physical object.

In some embodiments, the object may be a virtual object presented by awearable extended reality appliance. Additionally or alternatively, theobject may be a physical object detectable in an image captured from thephysical environment, for example using an image sensor included in thewearable extended reality appliance. By way of example, FIG. 49illustrates an example of a virtual object 4910 presented to user 100through wearable extended reality appliance 110 and an example of aphysical object 4911. User 100 may draw virtual markings on bothobjects. FIG. 50 illustrates a view of object 4910 as seen by user 100through wearable extended reality appliance 110.

Some disclosed embodiments may include receiving from an image sensor animage of a hand of an individual holding a physical marking implement.An image sensor may include one or more sensors configured to capturevisual information by converting light to image data, as describedpreviously in this disclosure. A physical marking implement may refer toa tangible instrument that may be utilized by a user to provide inputsto make virtual colored markings on objects. A physical markingimplement may take any form which may allow a user to make the virtualcolored markings by performing movements with the physical markingimplement. For instance, a physical marking implement may be or mayresemble a stylus, pen, pencil, crayon, marker, chalk, paint brush, orany other instrument which a user may hold and move to make virtualcolored markings on objects. Alternatively, a physical marking implementmay take the form of an input device such as a mouse, a keyboard, ajoystick, a touchpad or touch screen, or any other input device whichmay be used to provide an input to create virtual colored markings onobjects. By way of example, a processing device may receive from imagesensor 472 of XR unit 204 of FIG. 3 an image 5000. As shown in FIG. 50,image 5000 may include a hand 5010 holding a physical marking implement4920 having a tip 4922, and an object 4910.

Some disclosed embodiments may include detecting in the image a colorassociated with the marking implement. Detecting in the image a colorassociated with the marking implement may include analyzing image datareceived from an image sensor to identify a color of the at least partof a marking implement being held by a user. For example, if the user isholding a red pen (or an implement configured to resemble a red pen) aprocessor may detect the color red. In another example, the markingimplement may have a colored tip (for example, a blue tip), the imagemay be analyzed to detect the marking implement using an objectdetection algorithm, the region of the marking implement correspondingto the tip may be identified in the image using a template matchingalgorithm, and the values of the pixels in the identified region may beanalyzed, for example using a statistical function or a histogram, todetermine the color of the tip (for example, blue), thereby detectingthat the color associated with the marking implement is the color of thetip (for example, blue). Alternatively, the marking implement may have aunique shape or code there that identifies it as being associated withthe color red, and that unique shape or code may be recognized throughimage processing and look up in a data structure associating such shapesor codes with colors. In one example, detecting the color associatedwith the marking implement may first involve identifying the markingimplement, which may occur by detection of a human hand holding thephysical marking implement, for example using a hand detectionalgorithm. In some examples, a machine learning model may be trainedusing training examples to detect color associated with markingimplements from images and/or videos. An example of such trainingexample may include a sample image and/or a sample video of a samplemarking implement, together with a label indicating the color associatedwith the sample marking implement. The trained machine learning modelmay be used to analyze the image and determine the color associated withthe marking implement. By way of example, a processing device may detectfrom image 5000 of FIG. 50, a color associated with marking implement4920, e.g., red. Some examples of marking implements are shown in FIG.52, represented as marking implements 5220, 5222, 5224, and 5226.

Some disclosed embodiments may include receiving from the image sensorimage data indicative of movement of a tip of the marking implement andlocations of the tip. Image data may refer to signals or informationreceived from or derived from the output of an image sensor. Image datamay include images, grayscale images, color images, 2D images, 3Dimages, videos, 2D videos, 3D videos, frames, footages, coloridentification and/or data derived from or associated with any of theforgoing. A tip of the marking implement may refer to a distal end of amarking implement, for example of a marking implement associated withforming markings (e.g., what is referred to in the physical world as apen, pencil, or crayon tip, a marking element of a magic marker, or thebristles of a paint brush). Non-physically functional virtual markingimplements (i.e., an object that cannot produce physical drawings) maybe considered marking implements within this disclosure in the sensethat they are capable of causing virtual markings. Thus, the tip of themarking implement may be the end of a marking implement, such as astylus, which may be used by a user to interact with a location on animage. In some embodiments, the tip of the marking implement may be aseparate element which may be selectively attached and detached to amarking implement. In this example, differing tips may have differingcolors and may be interchangeable. Movement of a tip of the markingimplement may refer to any motion of the tip of the marking implementthrough space. Such movements may be detected through analysis of theimage data using a visual object tracking algorithm. Locations of thetip may refer to one or more positions of the tip in space (such as aphysical space, an extended reality space, etc.) as the tip movesthrough space or when the tip is stationary.

In some embodiments, the tip of the marking implement may be detected asmoving in 2D or 3D space. Data indicative of the movement or locationsof the tip may refer to any data which may be analyzed to determine themovement or locations of the tip. For instance, the data indicative ofthe movement or locations of the tip may include positions, angles,distances, pixel locations, orientations, scales, speeds, accelerations,and any other property of the tip which may indicate a movement orlocation of the tip in 2D or 3D. In one example, the data indicative ofthe movement or locations of the tip may include a time series oflocations or movement vectors associated with the tip. In anotherexample, the data indicative of the movement or locations of the tip mayinclude a group of locations or a group of movement vectors associatedwith the tip that are not sorted by time. In yet another example, thedata indicative of the movement or locations of the tip may include acurved line associated with the movement or locations of the tip. By wayof example, a processing device may receive from image sensor 472 ofFIG. 3 image data indicative of movement of tip 4922 of markingimplement 4920 and locations of tip 4922, as shown in FIGS. 51A to 51D.For instance, the processing device may receive a location 5102 of tip4922 in image 5100, a location 5112 of tip 4922 in image 5110, alocation 5122 of tip 4922 in image 5120, and a location 5132 of tip 4922in image 5130. The processing device may also receive images from inbetween each of images 5100, 5110, 5120, and 5130 in the series ofevents. Additionally, the processing device may receive data indicatingthe movement of tip 4922 based on images 5100, 5110, 5120, and 5130.

Some disclosed embodiments may include determining from the image datawhen the locations of the tip correspond to locations on the object. Insome examples, the locations of the tip may correspond to locations onthe object when, while viewed from a particular distance andorientation, the tip of the physical marking implement may appear tohover directly over locations on the object or when the position of thetip of the physical marking implement overlaps or coincides with aposition of a point on the object. For example, a virtual object may bepresented in a field of view of a wearable extended virtual realityappliance, and the wearer may virtually color or mark-up the virtualobject. A processor may detect the coincidence of the tip of the markingimplement with a location on the virtual object. Similarly, in the caseof a physical object, the processor may detect in a similar way acoincidence of the tip of the marking implement with the physicalobject. In some embodiments, determining from the image data when thelocations of the tip correspond to locations on the object may includeanalyzing the image data using any of the method described above. By wayof example, a processing device may determine from the image data whenthe locations of tip 4922 correspond to locations on object 4910. Forinstance, in FIGS. 51A to 51D, a processing device may determine fromimages 5100, 5110, 5120, and 5130 that locations 5102, 5112, and 5122 oftip 4922 correspond to locations on object 4910, whereas location 5132of tip 4922 does not correspond to a location on object 4910. In someexamples, a distance of the determined locations of the tip from thelocations on the object may be determined, for example by measuring thedistance in the image data, by projecting a location of the tip on a 3Dmodel of the object, and so forth. Further, when the distance is below aselected threshold, it may be determined that the location of the tipcorresponds to the locations on the object, and when the distance isabove the selected threshold, it may be determined that the location ofthe tip does not correspond to the locations on the object. In someexamples, a machine learning model may be trained using trainingexamples to determine when locations of tips of marking implementscorrespond to locations on objects. An example of such training examplemay include a sample image and/or a sample video frame of a samplemarking implement and a sample object, together with a label indicatingwhether the location of the tip of the sample marking implementcorresponds to locations of the sample object. The trained machinelearning model may be used to analyze the image data and determine whenthe locations of the tip correspond to locations on the object.

Some disclosed embodiments may include generating, in the detectedcolor, virtual markings on the object at the corresponding locations.The virtual markings may be rendered on top of an object at one or morelocations at which a user has performed a movement of a physical markingimplement. In some embodiments generating the virtual markings in thedetected color may include rendering the virtual markings in the colorcorresponding to the physical marking implement onto a virtual view ofthe object which may be observed by one or more users. By way ofexample, a processing device may generate, in the detected color,virtual markings on object 4910 at the corresponding locations. Forinstance, a processing device may generate, in red, the color associatedwith marking implement 4920. Virtual marking 5134 on object 4910 maycorrespond to locations 5102, 5112, and 5122 of tip 4922 on object 4910.In some examples, generating, in the detected color, virtual markings onthe object at the corresponding locations may include adding the virtualmarkings to an extended reality environment or to a virtual object inthe extended reality environment. In some examples, the virtual markingsmay be docked to the object in the extended reality environment, and maytherefore move with the object when the object is moving.

Some disclosed embodiments may include presenting to the individualholding the marking implement, the virtual markings via a wearableextended reality appliance. A wearable extended reality appliance may bea wearable device, such as a head-mounted device, for example, smartglasses, smart contact lens, headsets or any other device worn by ahuman for purposes of presenting an extended reality to the human, asdescribed elsewhere in this disclosure. Presenting to the individualholding the marking implement, the virtual markings via a wearableextended reality appliance may refer to displaying the virtual markingsthrough the wearable extended reality appliance such that theindividual, who is looking at the object through the wearable extendedreality appliance, may see the virtual markings. Thus, a user mayvirtually color or annotate a virtual or physical object in the user'sfield of view. Colorization of a physical object may involve imagemanipulation to present to the user a colorized overlay corresponding tothe movements of the tip of the marking implement on the physicalobject. By way of example, visual marking 5134 of FIGS. 51A to 51D maybe presented to user 100 holding marking implement 4920 via wearableextended reality appliance 110 of FIG. 49. As another example, visualmarkings 5534 and 5536 may be displayed on extended reality display 5500to user 100 holding marking implement 4920 via a wearable extendedreality appliance such as wearable extended reality appliance 110.

Some disclosed embodiments may include presenting the virtual markingsvia a wearable extended reality appliance to a second individual locatedin proximity to the individual holding the marking implement. A secondindividual located in proximity may refer to two individuals beingseparated by a particular distance or a threshold distance. In oneembodiment, the second individual is considered to be located inproximity to the individual holding the marking implement when theirwearable extended reality appliances may communicate with each other.For example, an individual located in proximity to the individualholding the marking implement may be within 1 meter, 2 meters, 3 meters,4 meters, 5 meters, 10 meters, 20 meters, 50 meters, or any otherappropriate distance from the individual holding the marking implement.In other embodiments, the distances may be much greater, such that theindividuals may be in two remote locations. Regardless, when wearableextended reality appliances are viewing the same space and one usermarks-up a virtual or physical object, those markings detected by theimage sensor of the virtual reality appliance associated with theindividual doing the marking may be transmitted to the other individual,such that the same markings appear on the display of the otherindividual. By way of example, FIG. 52 illustrates individual 5200 anduser 100 spaced apart by a distance 5240. Second individual 5200 may bein proximity to user 100 because distance 5240 may be less than thethreshold distance (e.g., 1 meter). As an example, virtual markings 5234and 5236 may be presented to user 100 via wearable extended realityappliance 110 and to and individual 5200 via wearable extended realityappliances 5202.

Some embodiments may include receiving a second indication that thesecond individual performed an action for modifying a virtualrepresentation of the object. An indication of an action may include anynotification that an action took place or is taking place, the actionbeing a manipulation of the marking implement. For example, notificationmay be a mirror display of the marking implement on displays ofindividuals who are part of a group viewing an object that is in theprocess of modification. Or some other indicator such as an icon ornotice may appear on others' displays indicating that a revision by themarking element is either in progress or has occurred. For instance, asecond individual may point to locations on the object to create newvirtual markings or may wave their hands to erase existing virtualmarkings on the object. Those indications might be presented to others.Some embodiments may involve causing additional virtual markings on theobject that corresponds to the action in response to the received secondindication. The additional virtual markings may be modifications to thevirtual representation of the object that may affect only the virtualrepresentation of the second individual, or may affect the virtualrepresentations of some or all the individuals viewing the object. Byway of example, as illustrated in FIG. 52, a virtual marking 5234 may bepresented via wearable extended reality appliance 5202 to a secondindividual 5200 located in proximity to user 100 holding markingimplement 4920. In some embodiments, second individual 5200 may performan action for modifying the visual representation of object 4910 andsend a second indication to rem a processing device via a network. Inresponse to the second indication, the processing device may causeadditional virtual markings to appear on object 4910 corresponding tothe performed action. Additionally or alternatively, the action maycause the processing device to erase existing virtual markings such asvirtual marking 5234 from the visual representation of object 4910.

Some disclosed embodiments may include presenting the virtual markingstogether with a virtual presentation of the object via wearable extendedreality appliances to a plurality of individuals located remotely fromthe individual holding the marking implement. A plurality of individualslocated remotely from the individual holding the marking implement mayrefer to two or more individuals being physically separated from theindividual, for example, in different rooms, buildings, cities,countries, or in the same room but separated by a physical partition.For instance, a plurality of individuals may be presented the virtualmarkings and the virtual presentation of the object while being in adifferent location from the object and the individual holding thephysical marking implement. As an example, the individual holding thephysical marking implement and the plurality of individuals may beseparated by a distance of 5 meters, 10 meters, 100 meters, 1 kilometer,10 kilometers, 100 kilometers, 1000 kilometers, or any other distancewhich would mean the individual holding the marking implement and theplurality of individuals are physically separated. The plurality ofindividuals may each view the virtual markings and the virtualpresentation of the object via a wearable extended reality appliance, orvia a screen which the plurality of individuals may view together. As anexample, a university professor may generate virtual markings on anobject from an office or classroom, and students in their homes may bepresented with the virtual markings together with a virtual presentationof the object. In one example, the object may be a virtual object, andthe virtual presentation of the object may be based on a model of thevirtual object. In another example, the object may be a physical object,and the virtual presentation of the object may be based on images of theobject captured using the image sensor.

Some disclosed embodiments may include receiving a second indicationthat at least one of the plurality of individuals performed an actionfor modifying the virtual representation of the object. In someembodiments, one or more individuals of the plurality of individualsdiscussed above may use their own marking implements to make changes tothe object or may otherwise take an action signaling that the virtualrepresentation of the object is to be modified. For instance, the one ormore individuals may wave their hands to erase existing virtual markingson the object or may use their own marking implements to augment,modify, or erase the markings already added to the object. Additionallyor alternatively, the one or more individuals may perform gestures oruse their own marking implements to create new virtual markings on theobject. In one example, receiving the second indication may include atleast one of reading the second indication from memory, receiving thesecond indication from an external device (for example, from an externaldevice associated with the at least one of the plurality of individuals,from an external device controlling the extended reality environment,etc.), determining the second indication by analyzing sensor data (suchas image data captured using an image sensor, gesture data capturedusing haptic glove, etc.), and so forth. Some embodiments may involve,causing removal of at least part of the virtual markings on the objectin response to the received second indication. For example, themodifications to the virtual representation of the object may affectonly the virtual representation associated with the individualperforming the action, or may affect the virtual representations of apart or all of the individuals viewing the object, including theindividual holding the physical marking implement.

By way of example, virtual marking 5134 of FIG. 53 may be presented viawearable extended reality appliance 5310 to a plurality of individuals5300 located remotely from user 100 holding marking implement 4920. Forinstance, user 100 may be located in a room 5320 while plurality ofindividuals 5300 may be located in a different room 5330, which may beanywhere in the world where communications network 214 may still reachwearable extended reality appliances 5310. As an example, an individual5302 from among individuals 5300 may perform an action for modifying thevirtual representation of object 4910, and a second indication may besent to a processing device via a network. In response to the secondindication, the processing device may cause the removal of at least partof virtual marking 5134 on object 4910. In some embodiments, themodifications to the virtual representation of object 4910 may affectonly the virtual representation associated with individual 5302, mayaffect the visual representation associated with some or all individuals5300, may affect the visual representation associated with user 100, ormay affect the visual representation associated with user 100 and thevisual representation associated with some or all individuals 5300.

Some disclosed embodiments may include presenting the virtual markingsvia a wearable extended reality appliance to a second individual whilethe second individual is located in an environment of a physical objectand the individual holding the marking implement is no longer in theenvironment of the object. In one example, an environment of the objectmay refer to a space in which the object may reside (e.g., a room, abuilding, an exterior, or any other area where the object may belocated). In another example, an environment of the object may refer toall positions with a line-of-sight to at least part of the object. Forinstance, a view of the object may be partially obscured by a wall foran individual present in a different room than the room in which the maybe located. However, the individual may still be considered to be in theenvironment of the object because they have a line-of-sight to at leastpart of the object. In some embodiments, a first individual holding aphysical marking implement may make virtual markings on an object andthen leave the environment of the object. Upon leaving the environmentof the object, the first individual may no longer be in the same spaceas the object and/or may not have a line-of-sight to any portion of theobject. A second individual may enter the environment of the object andmay still view the virtual markings that were made by the firstindividual previously. By way of example, as illustrated in FIG. 54, anobject may be a physical object, such as a table 5410. In this example,user 100 may make a virtual marking 5412 on table 5410 using markingimplement 4920 and may leave room 5430 to go to room 5420, which isoutside of the environment of table 5410. Then, a second individual 5400may enter room 5430 (and thus the environment of table 5410) and mayview virtual marking 5412 on table 5410 via wearable extended realityappliance 5440.

Some disclosed embodiments may include determining from the image dataan intent of the individual to delete at least some of the virtualmarkings and removing the at least some of the virtual markings from theobject. An intent to delete at least some of the virtual markings may bedetermined by analyzing received image data to determine that anindividual is performing a gesture or the use of a marking implementassociated with removing virtual markings. For instance, an individualmay gesture in a certain way signaling a removal of markings (e.g. byvirtually touching the markings to be deleted and either before or afterpressing a physical or virtual button signaling deletion) or by use anopposite end of the marking implement as a virtual eraser. Image datamay be analyzed to determine which end of the marking implement is inuse—the tip or the eraser, and the functionality associated with the endin use may thereby be implemented. These are just a few examples. Otheractions or combinations of actions may be recognized by at least oneprocessor analyzing image data to cause deletions. By way of example, aprocessing device may determine from image 5130 of FIG. 51D an intent ofuser 100 to delete at least some of virtual marking 5134. The processingdevice may determine such intent when, for example, user 100 performs apredetermined action or utilizes an opposing end 5138 of markingimplement 4920 to indicate portions of virtual marking 5134 that user100 wishes to erase. The processing device may then remove the indicatedportions and render only the remaining portions of virtual marking 5134.

Some disclosed embodiments may include determining from the image dataan intent of the individual to change the color of the virtual markings,presenting a virtual color palette via a wearable extended realityappliance to the individual holding the marking implement, determining aselection of a substitute color from the virtual color palette, andgenerating additional virtual markings on the object in the selectedsubstitute color. Color changes may occur in a manner similar todeletions discussed above, through the use of a differing color markingimplement detected in image data. Or, a virtual color palette may beprovided, and an individual may gesture (e.g., point) to a new colorwhich in response may change a color of a marking implement. Similarly,pointing toward a virtual eraser may change the function of the markingimplement from a marker to an eraser. An individual may indicate anintent to change the color of the virtual markings by performing agesture with a hand or with the physical marking implement. A gesturemay include a conscious or unconscious movement of a hand of anindividual which may be detected by a wearable extended realityappliance. For example, a gesture may include pointing, rotating,swiping, grabbing, tapping, or otherwise moving a hand or a finger withthe intent to perform an action on a particular part of an extendedreality display, an object, or the space visible through the wearableextended reality appliance. A virtual color palette may refer to a userinterface enabling a selection of a variety of colors. The virtual colorpalette may be presented to the individual virtually via the wearableextended reality appliance. The virtual color palette may be virtuallypresented as a bounded area with smaller areas each representing adifferent range or shade of color. The virtual color palette may bepresented to an individual as an overlay on top of objects visiblethrough the wearable extended reality appliance or displayed via anextended reality display presented to the individual. The individual mayperform a gesture with a body part or with the physical markingimplement to indicate selection of a substitute color from the virtualcolor palette. For instance, a specific gesture such as swiping,tapping, double tapping, selecting, pointing, or other appropriategesture may be recognized as a selection of a substitute color. Once thesubstitute color has been selected, any further virtual markings made onthe object by the individual will be in the selected substitute coloruntil the individual selects a new color. In some embodiments, theindividual may select to have a part of or all of the existing virtualmarkings change color to a substitute color. By way of example, aprocessing device may determine from image data an intent of user 100 tochange the color of the virtual markings. The processing device may thenpresent a virtual color palette 5510 of FIG. 55 via wearable extendedreality appliance 110 to user 100 holding marking implement 4920. Then,the processing device may determine a selection of a substitute colorfrom virtual color palette 5510 when, for instance, user 100 may pointto a substitute color. The processing device may generate additionalvirtual markings on object 5520 in the selected substitute color. Insome embodiments, user 100 may perform an action (e.g., a movement ofthe marking implement or an appropriate gesture made by the secondindividual to signal that a virtual representation of the object is tobe modified, as discussed above) such that existing virtual marking 5534may change color to the substitute color.

Some disclosed embodiments may include detecting a type of the markingimplement, accessing a repository of types of marking implements andcorresponding mark characteristics associated therewith, and generatingthe virtual markings with a specific mark characteristic correspondingto the detected type of the marking implement. The type of the markingimplement may be detected by analyzing the image data (i.e., data whichmay be used to represent graphic or pictorial data, as discussed above)by any of the methods described herein. For example, a data structuremay hold characteristics of differing marking implements (e.g., pen,pencil, crayon, paint brush, magic marker, etc.) Image data may becompared with the characteristics stored in the data structure toidentify the marking implement type (and, perhaps also an associatedcolor.) When a match is determined, the marking characteristicsassociated with that marking implement may be retrieved from the datastructure and applied. Thus, the visible characteristics of a virtualline (e.g., quality, consistency, shape) drawn by a pencil may differ inappearance from the characteristics of a line drawn by a paint brush,pen, crayon or magic marker. As another example, the type of the markingimplement may be input by a user. A repository of types of markingimplements and corresponding mark characteristics associated therewithmay refer to a data store which may store information on different typesof marking implements and their corresponding characteristics. In someembodiments, the types of marking implements may be associated withdifferent widths of the virtual markings on the object. For example, awidth of a pen stroke may be narrower than a width of a brush stroke. Asother examples, the types of marking implements may be associated withdifferent fonts, font styles, sizes, underline styles, and any othereffects which may affect the appearance of a virtual marking. Someembodiments may include displaying a virtual representation of thedetected type of the marking implement in virtual reality. For instance,an individual may be able to confirm that the detected type of themarking implement is indeed the marking implement they are holding.Generating the virtual markings with a specific mark characteristiccorresponding to the detected type of the marking implement may includecreating to be presented or otherwise displayed to an individual thevirtual markings having properties associated with the marking implementused to create the virtual markings. For instance, a virtual markingcreated with a marking implement having a predetermined line width andcolor associated with it may be generated to have the predetermined linewidth and color. By way of example, three types of marking implements5222, 5224, and 5226 are illustrated in FIG. 52. In some embodiments,marking implements 5222, 5224, and 5226 may generate virtual markingshaving different widths, fonts, font styles, sizes, underline styles,and any other effects which may affect the appearance of a virtualmarking. For example, a processing device may detect marking implement5222 from image 5200 by analyzing image 5200 by any of the methodsdiscussed herein. In this example, the processing device may access arepository of types of marking implements and corresponding markcharacteristics associated therewith to determine that the width of thevirtual marks generated by marking implement 5222 are “thin.”Accordingly, the processing device may generate the virtual markingswith the specific mark characteristic (e.g., “thin”) and/or colorcorresponding to marking implement 5222. In some embodiments, wearableextended reality appliance 110 may display a virtual representation 5530of the detected type of the marking implement in virtual reality to user100.

Some disclosed embodiments may include interpreting three-dimensionalmovements of the marking implement as two-dimensional inputs. While auser may move a marking implement in three-dimensional space, the outmay be presented in two dimensions. In such an instance, the processorconverts the three-dimensional detected movements of the markingimplement into two-dimensional representations. In some embodiments, thetwo-dimensional virtual object may include a document, and thethree-dimensional movements of the marking implement may be interpretedas handwriting virtual markings on the document in the detected color.By way of example, a processing device may interpret three-dimensionalmovements of marking implement 4920 of FIG. 55 as two-dimensional inputsto generate virtual marking 5534 including handwriting on object 5520.

Some disclosed embodiments may include interpreting three-dimensionalmovements of the marking implement as three-dimensional inputs. If auser is marking on a three-dimensional object, the processor mayinterpret the three-dimensional coordinates of the markings andtranslate them onto the corresponding three-dimensional representationof the object. For example, the three-dimensional virtual object mayinclude a virtual representation of a physical object, and the virtualmarkings may include markings in the detected color on two traversedsurfaces of the virtual representation of the physical object. Thethree-dimensional movements of the marking implement may be interpretedas three-dimensional inputs by interpreting the motion of the markingimplement in a space with more than two coordinate axes. For instance,the two traversed surfaces of the virtual representation of the physicalobject may be on two planes which are at different angles to each other.That is, a three-dimensional virtual object may have numerous surfaces,some of which may be on different planes. A traversed surface may be onewith which the tip of the marking implement overlaps. By way of example,object 4910 of FIGS. 51A to 51D may be a three-dimensional object and aprocessing device may interpret three-dimensional movements of markingimplement 4920 as three-dimensional inputs to generate virtual markings5134 and 5136, which may be on two different surfaces of the virtualrepresentation of object 4910.

Some disclosed embodiments may include determining from the image datathat the individual replaced the physical marking implement with asecond physical marking implement associated with a second color,detecting in the image data the second color associated with the secondmarking implement, and generating additional virtual markings on theobject in the second color. For instance, to change to a second color,an individual may simply switch to a second physical marking implement,which may be determined by analyzing the image data via any of themethods described herein. The color of second physical marking implementmay be automatically detected such that the individual may not need toperform any additional actions. In one embodiment, a second physicalmarking implement may be associated with a second color via data storedin a repository which may be accessed once a specific physical markingimplement is detected to determine which is the specific colorassociated with the specific physical marking implement. In someembodiments, the additional virtual markings in the second color mayoverlay the previous virtual markings associated with a first color. Byway of example, instead of selecting a new color as discussed withrespect to virtual color palette 5510 of FIG. 55, user 100 may simplyswitch to a second physical marking implement 5222, 5224, or 5226 asshown in image 5200 of FIG. 52. A processing device may detect thesecond color associated with second physical marking implement 5226 andgenerate additional virtual marking 5236 on object 5210 in the secondcolor. In some embodiments, additional virtual marking 5236 in thesecond color may overlay virtual marking 5234 associated with the firstcolor.

Some disclosed embodiments may include determining from the image datathat the individual holds a second physical marking implement associatedwith a second color in addition to the physical marking implement,detecting in the image data the second color associated with the secondmarking implement, determining from the image data locations of a tip ofthe second marking implement, and generating additional virtual markingson the object in the second color based on the determined locations ofthe tip of the second marking implement. In some embodiments, any numberof additional physical marking implements may be held by an individualand detected by analyzing the image data via any of the methodsdescribed herein such that the virtual markings made by each physicalmarking implement retain the characteristics of the physical markingimplement which performed the action to make the virtual marking. By wayof example, a processing device may determine that user 100 may hold anadditional physical marking implement 5222, 5224, and/or 5226 associatedwith an additional color in addition to physical marking implement 5220,may detect the additional color associated with additional physicalmarking implement 5222, 5224, and/or 5226, may determine locations of atip of additional marking implement 5222, 5224, and/or 5226, and maygenerate additional virtual markings on object 5210 in the additionalcolor based on the determined locations of the tip of additional markingimplement 5222, 5224, and/or 5226.

In some examples, contextual environmental data corresponding to aselected time period may be determined. For example, images and/orvideos (such as the image data) may be analyzed using a person detectionalgorithm to determine the presence of one or more additional people(e.g., beside the individual holding the physical marking implement) atthe selected time period, may be analyzed using a face recognitionalgorithm to determine the identity of the one or more additionalpeople, may be analyzed using a visual action recognition algorithm todetermine one or more actions performed by the one or more additionalpeople at the selected time period, may be analyzed using a visual eventdetection algorithm to detect one or more events occurring at theselected time period, may be analyzed using a scene recognitionalgorithm to determine a type of the physical environment (such asoutdoor, indoor, office, meeting room, home, etc.), and so forth. In oneexample, the contextual environmental data corresponding to the selectedtime period may include at least one of the one or more additionalpeople, the identity of the one or more additional people, the one ormore actions, the one or more events, or the type of the physicalenvironment. In another example, audio captured from the environment ofthe individual holding the physical marking implement may be analyzedusing speech recognition algorithm to determine a topic of aconversation taking place at the selected time period, may be analyzedusing speaker diarization algorithm to identify contributors to theconversation at the selected time period, and so forth. In one example,the contextual environmental data corresponding to the selected timeperiod may include at least one of the determined topic of theconversation or the identified contributors. Some disclosed embodimentsmay involve introducing changes or differentiators to different portionsof the virtual markings that are associated with different time periodsand/or different contextual environmental data. For example, portions ofthe virtual marking associated with different time periods correspondingto the creation of the portion of the virtual marking may have differingappearance (e.g., shading). In some examples, a data-structure mayassociate different portions of the virtual markings with determinedcontextual environmental data corresponding to the time periodassociated with the portions of the virtual markings. In one example, auser may provide (for example, via a user interface) an input indicativeof a specific contextual environmental data or of a group of differentcontextual environmental data instances. In other examples, such inputmay be received from an external device, from a memory unit, from anautomated process, and so forth. The data-structure may be searchedbased on the input to identify the portions of the virtual markingscorresponding to the specific contextual environmental data or to thegroup of different contextual environmental data instances. Theidentified portions of the virtual markings may be provided, for exampleto the user that provided the input, to a different user, to an externaldevice, to a memory unit, for presentation in an extended realityenvironment, and so forth.

FIG. 56 provides a flowchart of an example method 5600 for makingvirtual colored markings on objects executed by a processing device ofsystem 200 as illustrated in FIG. 2. The processing device of system 200may include a processor within a mobile communications device (e.g., amobile communications device 206), a processor within a server (e.g.,server 210), a processor within a wearable extended reality appliance(e.g., wearable extended reality appliance 110), or a processor withinan input device associated with wearable extended reality appliance 110(e.g., keyboard 104). It will be readily appreciated, that variousimplementations are possible and that any combination of components ordevices may be utilized to implement the exemplary method. It will alsobe readily appreciated that the illustrated method can be altered tomodify the order of steps, delete steps, or further include additionalsteps, such as steps directed to optional embodiments.

Method 5600 may include a step 5602 of receiving an indication of anobject. Method 5600 may further include a step 5604 of receiving from animage sensor an image of a hand of an individual holding a physicalmarking implement. Method 5600 may further include a step 5606 ofdetecting in the image a color associated with the marking implement.Method 5600 may further include a step 5608 of receiving from the imagesensor image data indicative of movement of a tip of the markingimplement and locations of the tip. Method 5600 may further include astep 5610 of determining from the image data when the locations of thetip correspond to locations on the object. Method 5600 may furtherinclude a step 5612 of generating, in the detected color, virtualmarkings on the object at the corresponding locations. Details andexamples on the different steps of method 5600 are described above.

In order for multiple users of wearable extended reality appliances tocommonly view virtual objects, aspects of this disclosure describe howto develop an on-the-fly coordinate system that may be shared by users.The coordinate system may be created by displaying a code on a mobiledevice. When the extended reality appliances scan the code, the wearableextended reality appliances share a common reference point and may usethat reference point to generate a shared common coordinate system.Additionally, when the mobile device moves, the displayed code may bechanged accordingly.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve enabling wearable extendedreality appliances to share virtual content. Sharing virtual content mayrefer to the distribution of text, photos, videos, links, or any otherinformation across different displays of wearable extended realityappliances. For example, a wearable extended reality appliance maydisplay virtual content in an extended reality environment. A secondwearable extended reality appliance may not display any virtual content.The first wearable extended reality appliance may share its display ofvirtual content with the second wearable extended reality appliance inorder for the second wearable extended reality appliance to display thesame content as the first wearable extended reality appliance. In someexamples, sharing virtual content may include the presentation of thesame virtual content by a plurality of wearable extended realityappliances, for example in a same or similar position and orientation inan extended reality environment.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve generating a visual codereflecting a first physical position of a mobile device, the visual codebeing configured to be read by a plurality of wearable extended realityappliances. The term “visual code” may include, for example, amachine-readable code consisting of an array of black and white squares,typically used for storing the address of a webpage or otherinformation. Additionally or alternatively, the visual code may includeone or more of numbers, letters, shapes, images, colors, or any otheridentifier that may be detected by an image sensor. For example, thevisual code may be a QR code, Data Matrix code, bar code, alphanumericcode, or any other type of code. The visual code may be read by aplurality of wearable extended reality appliances using a device forrecording visual images that may be incorporated within or attached tothe wearable extended reality appliances. The device for recordingvisual images may be a camera, scanner, recorder, or any other type ofrecording device. The visual code may be displayed on a mobile device,such as a cell phone, tablet, dedicated hardware, or any other physicaldevice capable of code display. In some examples, the informationcontained in the visual code may represent a physical position of amobile device in a physical space. A physical position may be the placewhere an item is located. In some examples, the information contained inthe visual code may represent a physical position of a presentation ofthe visual code in a physical space. For example, for a firstpresentation of the visual code at a first position on a display screenof the mobile device and a second presentation of the visual code at asecond position (different from the first position) on the displayscreen of the mobile device while the mobile device is at the sameposition and orientation in the physical space, the first presentationand the second presentation may have different physical positions in thephysical space, and the visual code may include different information torepresent that. In another example, different positions of thepresentation of the visual code on the display screen may compensate fordifferent positions and/or orientations of the mobile device, so thatthe physical position of the presentation of the visual code is thesame, and the visual code may include the same information in thedifferent presentations to represent that. In some examples, theinformation contained in the visual code may represent a physicalorientation of a mobile device in a physical space. A physicalorientation may be the direction of an item in a physical space. In someexamples, the information contained in the visual code may represent aphysical orientation of a presentation of the visual code in a physicalspace. For example, for a first presentation of the visual code at afirst orientation on a display screen of the mobile device and a secondpresentation of the visual code at a second orientation (different fromthe first orientation) on the display screen of the mobile device whilethe mobile device is at the same position and orientation in thephysical space, the first presentation and the second presentation mayhave different physical orientations in the physical space, and thevisual code may include different information to represent that. Inanother example, different orientations of the presentation of thevisual code on the display screen may compensate for different positionsand/or orientations of the mobile device, so that the physicalorientation of the presentation of the visual code is the same, and thevisual code may include the same information in the differentpresentations to represent that. A mobile device may be located in manydifferent environments. For example, a mobile device may be located inan office environment, home environment, public space, or any otherlocation. In one exemplary use case, a mobile phone (for example on aconference table) may display the visual code, and a group ofindividuals, each wearing an extended reality device, may capture animage of the visual code, providing a common reference point for thegroup.

In some embodiments, the mobile device may be a smartphone paired withone of the plurality of wearable extended reality appliances. Pairingmay involve creating a link between computing devices to allowcommunications between the devices. Paired devices may be able totransmit information between each other. For example, a smartphone maybe paired with one of the plurality of wearable extended realityappliances so that information may be shared between the smartphone andthe wearable extended reality appliance. In some embodiments, the mobiledevice may be paired with one of the plurality of wearable extendedreality appliances. A wearable extended reality appliance may includesmart glasses, head-mounted displays, head-up displays, virtual reality(VR) headset, or any other type of appliance.

Prior to generating the visual code, some of the disclosed embodimentsmay involve determining the first physical position of the mobile devicebased on data received from at least one location sensor within themobile device. A location sensor may detect a physical position that mayinclude absolute position (i.e. location) or relative position (i.e.displacement from a position). For example, a location sensor may useGPS technology, outdoor positioning system or an indoor positioningsystem to determine absolute or relative location. As another example, alocation sensor may provide coordinate locations relative to apredetermined reference frame. As another example, the location sensormay provide angular positions of relative to a predetermined referenceframe. Additionally, one or more hubs of a wireless network such as aWiFi network may be used to determine location. A mobile device maycontain a location sensor configured for use in determining a physicalposition of the mobile device.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve presenting the visual code on adisplay of the mobile device for detection by the plurality of wearableextended reality appliances, to thereby enable the plurality of wearableextended reality appliances to share content in a common coordinatesystem upon the detection of the visual code. Detection of a visual codeby a wearable extended reality appliance may include an applianceconfigured to identify the presence of a visual code. For example, asstated above, the wearable extended reality appliance may contain arecording, scanning, or imaging device. The recording, scanning, orimaging device may identify and scan the visual code. For example, thevisual code may include a QR code, and image data captured using animage sensor included in a wearable extended reality appliance may beanalyzed using a QR code detection algorithm to detect the visual code.In another example, the visual code may include a selected visualpattern, and the image data captured using an image sensor included in awearable extended reality appliance may be analyzed using a visualpattern recognition algorithm (such as a template matching algorithm) todetect the visual code. Detecting the visual code may enable a pluralityof wearable extended reality appliances to share content in a commoncoordinate system after the detection of the visual code. The term“coordinate system” refers to a common reference frame. A coordinatesystem may include, for example, an arrangement of reference lines orcurves used to identify the locations of points in space. For example,in two dimensions, an x-y plane (that is, a Cartesian coordinates systemwith a specific origin point and specific directions for the axes) maybe used to identify locations of points in space. As another example, intwo dimensions, a polar coordinates system with a particular originpoint and a specific reference direction may be used to identifylocations of points in space. As another example, in three dimensions,an x-y-z plane (that is, a Cartesian coordinates system with a specificorigin point and specific directions for the axes) or a sphericalcoordinates system with a specific origin point, a specific zenithdirection and a specific reference plane may be used to identifylocations of points in space. A physical space may contain an infinitenumber of coordinate systems. Prior to detecting the visual code, eachwearable extended reality appliance may have its own coordinate system.After detecting the visual code, the plurality of wearable extendedreality appliances may share a common coordinate system (which mayreplace their previous coordinate systems or may be used in addition totheir previous coordinate systems). In one example, a common coordinatesystem may mean that each coordinate system of each extended realityappliance may be aligned and may have the same arrangements of referencelines or curves. In another example, a common coordinate system mayenable different wearable extended reality appliances to present virtualcontent at the same physical location and/or physical orientation.Aligning coordinate systems may include ensuring that origins of thecoordinate systems coincide and that the one or more coordinate axesassociated with each coordinate system overlaps with or coincides withone or more coordinate axes of another coordinate system, or that otherelements that define the coordinate systems coincide. In one example,aligning coordinate systems may include determining one or moretransformation functions from one coordinate system to other coordinatesystems and vice versa. By way of another example, the visual code,which may be generated and displayed by the mobile device, may define acommon reference for a plurality of extended reality appliance wearers.Once they share the common reference, details of the shared coordinatesystem may be a matter of design choice.

The coordinate system may be imperceptible to appliance wearers. Forexample, they may not see any particular visualization of the coordinatesystem, aside from the fact that the perspective view of each appliancewearer may differ based on their orientations relative to the commonreference point. In other embodiments where the coordinate system isperceptible, each wearable extended reality appliance may display thesame arrangement of lines with a common reference point. A commonreference point may be a point in space with respect to which theposition of an object in space is expressed. For example, a mobiledevice may represent the point in space where the x and y axis crosseach other. As another example, a mobile device may represent the pointin space where the x, y, and z axis cross each other. A commoncoordinate system may be created when each wearable extended realityappliances' coordinate system shares a common reference point. Forexample, each wearable extended reality appliance may read the visualcode, determine the physical location of the mobile device based on thelocation information stored in the visual code, and make the physicallocation of the mobile device the origin of each wearable extendedreality appliances' coordinate system, creating a common coordinatesystem. Content may be shared in the common coordinate system in thesame manner as described above.

In some embodiments, users of the plurality of wearable extended realityappliances may view a virtual object at a single location in a physicalspace. For example, prior to a common coordinate system, a wearableextended reality appliance may display a virtual object in its owncoordinate system. And a second wearable extended reality appliance maydisplay the same virtual object in its own different coordinate system,with the two coordinate systems unaligned. The virtual objects mayappear in different locations in the two different coordinate systems.After scanning the visual code and forming a common coordinate system,the plurality of wearable extended reality appliances may display thevirtual object in the same position in the common coordinate system.

By way of example, FIG. 57 illustrates an example of a plurality ofwearable extended reality appliances with their own coordinate systemsnot aligned. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 57, user 5710 and user5712 may be in an office conference room. User 5710 may be wearingwearable extended reality appliance 5711. Wearable extended realityappliance 5711 may display virtual content 5715 in coordinate system5714. User 5712 may be wearing wearable extended reality appliance 5713.Wearable extended reality appliance 5713 may display virtual content5717 in coordinate system 5716. As illustrated in FIG. 57 coordinatesystem 5714 and 5716 may not be aligned, and as a result virtual content5715 and virtual content 5717 may be displayed at different locationsand/or orientations.

By way of example, FIG. 58 illustrates an example of a plurality ofwearable extended reality appliances with a common coordinate system.For example, as illustrated in FIG. 58, user 5810 and user 5812 may bein an office conference room. User 5810 may be wearing wearable extendedreality appliance 5811 and user 5812 may be wearing wearable extendedreality appliance 5813. Visual code 5816, displayed on mobile device5817, may be read by wearable extended reality appliances 5811 and 5813.After reading visual code 5816, wearable extended reality appliances5811 and 5813 may display content 5815 in a common coordinate system5814. Thereby, both wearable extended reality appliances 5811 and 5813may present content 5815 at the same location and/or orientation.

Some disclosed embodiments may include identifying a trigger for causingthe presentation of the visual code. The term “trigger” may mean anaction that causes an event or situation to happen. For example, avisual code may only be presented based on an identification of anaction. In one embodiment, the trigger may be associated with an inputreceived from a wearable extended reality appliance paired with themobile device. An input may include data that may be created based on anevent. The input may cause a trigger for a visual code to be presentedon the mobile device. For example, a mobile device and a wearableextended reality appliance may pair and create an input that may cause avisual code to appear on the mobile device. In one example, the wearableextended reality appliance may include an image sensor, image datacaptured using the image sensor may be analyzed using gesturerecognition algorithm, and identifying the trigger may include detectionof a particular gesture of a user of the wearable extended realityappliance in the image data. In another example, the wearable extendedreality appliance may include an audio sensor, audio data captured usingthe audio sensor may be analyzed using speech recognition algorithm, andidentifying the trigger may include detection of a particular voicecommand in the audio data. In yet another example, the wearable extendedreality appliance may identify a proximity of another wearable extendedreality appliance, and identifying the trigger may be based on theidentification of the proximity of the other wearable extended realityappliance. In another embodiment, the trigger may be associated with aninput from at least one sensor within the mobile device, the input beingindicative of an additional wearable extended reality applianceapproaching the mobile device. A sensor may be a device that detects andresponds to some type of input. Examples of sensors may include positionsensors, pressure sensors, temperature sensors, force sensors, or anyother type of sensor. A sensor may detect that an additional wearableextended reality appliance is near the mobile device. The sensor maycreate an input that may generate a trigger for a visual code to bepresented on the mobile device. For example, a wearable extended realityappliance may appear in the same room as a mobile device. The mobiledevice may detect the wearable extended reality appliance via a sensor.The detection may create an input that may cause a visual code to appearon the mobile device. In another embodiment, an input may be receivedfrom a user of the mobile device. For example, a user of a mobile devicemay manually prompt a sensor on the mobile device in order to cause apresentation of the visual code. The user may manually prompt a sensorby pushing a button, selecting an application, downloading a link, orany other manual means.

By way of example, FIG. 59 illustrates an example of an additionalwearable extended reality appliance joining a plurality of wearableextended reality appliances, where the additional appliance has acoordinate system not aligned with the common coordinate system. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 59, user 5910, user 5912, and user 5916may be in an office conference room. User 5910 may be wearing wearableextended reality appliance 5911 and user 5912 may be wearing wearableextended reality appliance 5913. Wearable extended reality appliances5911 and 5913 may display content 5915 in a common coordinate system5914. User 5916 may be wearing wearable extended reality appliance 5917.Wearable extended reality appliance 5917 may display content 5921 incoordinate system 5920 that may be different from coordinate system5914. As also illustrated in FIG. 59, mobile device 5918 may presentvisual code 5919. Wearable extended reality appliance 5917 may readvisual code 5919 and cause coordinate system 5920 to become aligned withcoordinate system 5914, for example as will be explained further inconnection with FIG. 60.

By way of example, FIG. 60 illustrates an example of an additionalwearable extended reality appliance having a common coordinate systemwith a plurality of wearable extended reality appliances. For example,as illustrated in FIG. 60, user 6010, user 6012, and user 6014 may be inan office conference room. User 6010 may be wearing wearable extendedreality appliance 6011, user 6012 may be wearing wearable extendedreality appliance 6013, and user 6014 may be wearing wearable extendedreality appliance 6015. Wearable extended reality appliances 6011, 6013,and 6015 may display content 6017 in a common coordinate system 6016alter wearable extended reality appliances read a visual code presentedon a mobile device.

Upon the detection of the visual code, in some embodiments, the visualcode may be configured to provide access to a private extended realityenvironment. A private extended reality environment may be anenvironment that may be accessible to a particular user or users andthat may be inaccessible to other users. To gain access to a privateextended reality environment, the one or more other users may need apassword, permission, pin code, or another type of authenticationinformation. For example, to gain access to a private extended realityenvironment, a wearable extended reality appliance may need to read aspecific visual code. Reading the visual code may cause the wearableextended reality appliance to access the private extended realityenvironment.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve preventing access to the privateextended reality environment following passage of a temporal limit. Atemporal limit may be a limit that is based on a length of time. Atemporal limit may be measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, and/orany other length of time. An extended reality environment may only beaccessible for a specific and/or limited amount of time, or a specificperiod of time. For example, a wearable extended reality appliance maydetect and read a visual code that may provide access to a privateextended reality environment. The private extended reality environmentmay be configured to deny access after a predetermined amount of time(e.g., 10 minutes, 15 minutes, or any other predetermined time period).After expiry of the predetermined amount of time, the wearable extendedreality appliance may no longer be able to display the extended realityenvironment. In some examples, reading the visual code in the specificperiod of time may provide the wearable extended reality applianceaccess to the private extended reality environment, while reading thesame visual code after the specific period of time has passed may notprovide the wearable extended reality appliance access to the privateextended reality environment. In one example, the provided access may belimited to the specific period of time, while in another example, oncethe access was provided in the specific period of time, the access maybe preserved for at least a selected amount of time after the specificperiod of time has passed. In one example, the visual code may be validfor granting access to the private extended reality environment for aspecific period of time, which may prevent abuse of the visual code (forexample, the usage of a picture of the visual code after thepresentation of the visual code by the mobile device stopped).

Some disclosed embodiments may involve preventing access to the privateextended reality environment when the visual code is detected beyond aspatial limit. A spatial limit may be a limit that is based on an eventexisting or happening in a certain space. An extended realityenvironment may only be accessible when a wearable extended realityappliance detects a visual code within a certain defined space. Forexample, the spatial limit may require that the visual code must bedetected in a certain room in an office. In another example, the spatiallimit may require that the visual code must be detected within a certaindistance of another wearable extended reality appliance. As anotherexample, the spatial limit may be that the code must be detected in acertain room in a user's home. Access to the private extended realityenvironment may be denied if the visual code is not detected within thelimit. For example, a wearable extended reality appliance may detect acode while in an office setting, and the wearable extended realityappliance may be provided access to the private extended realityenvironment. In another example, a wearable extended reality appliancemay detect a code in a public setting (e.g., outside the office, in apark, in a public place), and the wearable extended reality appliancemay be denied access to the private extended reality environment. Insome examples, the spatial limit may require that the visual code mustbe detected within a certain distance of the mobile device presentingit, or in a specific space in which the mobile device presenting thevisual code is located. This may prevent abuse of the visual code (forexample, the usage of a picture of the visual code sent to a remotelocation away of the mobile device).

Some disclosed embodiments may involve generating a first visual codeconfigured to grant access to a first private extended realityenvironment, and generating a second visual code configured to grantaccess to a second private extended reality environment. A wearableextended reality appliance may be granted access to multiple differentprivate extended reality environments from a single location. Eachdifferent private extended reality environment may be associated withits own visual code. For example, a wearable extended reality appliancemay detect a first visual code associated with a first private extendedreality environment, and the appliance may be granted access to thefirst private environment. The wearable extended reality appliance maywish to join a different private environment. A second visual codeassociated with a second private extended reality environment may begenerated. The wearable extended reality appliance may detect the secondvisual code and be granted access to the second private environment.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve detecting movement of the mobiledevice to a second physical position different from the first physicalposition. Detecting movement may include detecting a change in theposition of an object relative to its surroundings. Movement may bedetected by monitoring changes in sound waves, infrared light, visiblelight, radio frequency energy, or any other changes associated with achange in location.

In some embodiments, the detected movement may include a change in anorientation of the mobile device without a change in a location of themobile device, the altering of the presentation may include changing anorientation of the presented visual code to compensate for the change inthe orientation of the mobile device. The term “orientation” may includethe determination of the relative direction of something. A change inorientation may include a change in the relative direction of something.For example, a mobile device may be presented in a specific directionrelative to another direction in a common coordinate system or anotherobject. A mobile device may change relative directions without changinglocations in a common coordinate system. For example, a top portion of amobile device may be facing north in a common coordinate system that maybe using cardinal directions. The mobile device may be turned upsidedown so the top portion of the mobile device may be facing south in thecommon coordinate system. As another example, the mobile device may beturned left so the top portion of the mobile device may be facing westin the common coordinate system. As another example, the mobile devicemay be turned right so the top portion of the mobile device may befacing east in the common coordinate system. A visual code that may bepresented on a mobile device may also change orientations with themobile device. For example, a mobile device may be turned upside down sothe top portion of the mobile device may be facing south in a commoncoordinate system. A visual code may also be rotated 180 degrees so thetop portion of the visual code may be facing south in the commoncoordinate system.

In some embodiments, the detected movement may include a change in alocation of the mobile device without a change in an orientation of themobile device. When the change in the location of the mobile device issmaller than a selected threshold, the altering of the presentation mayinclude changing a location of the presented visual code on the displayof the mobile device to compensate for the change in the location of themobile device. A selected threshold may be an amount that must beexceeded for a certain reaction, result, or condition to occur. Athreshold may be based on distance, location, position, or any othermeasurement. In one examples, a threshold may be pre-determined orselected by a user. In one example, the threshold may be selected basedon a display size of the mobile device, based on a current location ofthe visual code on the display screen of the mobile device, and soforth. A threshold may be selected and when a change in location of amobile device is smaller than the threshold, the display of the visualcode on the mobile device may also be changed. In some embodiments, thedisplay may be moved by a distance proportional to the change inlocation of the mobile device. For example, a threshold may be set to 5feet. A change in a location of the mobile device may be 4 feet. Thechange may be smaller than the threshold and therefore a presentation ofthe visual code may also be moved 4 feet from the first physicalposition. In another embodiment, a threshold may be set to a specificlocation. For example, a threshold may be set to only the location of anoffice conference room. A first physical location of a mobile device maybe in the office conference room and a second physical location of themobile device may also be in the office conference room. The differencebetween the first and second physical location is below the thresholdand therefore a presentation of the visual code may also be moved on thedisplay of the mobile device to compensate for the change in thelocation of the mobile device. For example, the movement of the visualcode on the display of the mobile device may cancel with the movement ofthe mobile device so that the position of the visual code in thephysical environment stays the same. In this example, the threshold maybe selected so that the display screen of the mobile device is largeenough for relocating the visual code in a way that cancels the movementof the mobile device. In another example, each deviation of the visualcode from a selected position on the display screen may encode anon-linear correction to the movement of the mobile device.

In some embodiments, the detected movement may include a change in alocation of the mobile device and a change in an orientation of themobile device. When the change in the location of the mobile device issmaller than a selected threshold, the altering of the presentation mayinclude changing a location of the presented visual code on the displayof the mobile device to compensate for the change in the location of themobile device and changing an orientation of the presented visual codeto compensate for the change in the orientation of the mobile device. Achange in orientation may occur as described above. Additionally, aselected threshold may be determined as described above. For example, athreshold may be set to 5 feet. By way of an example, a change inlocation of the mobile device between the first physical position andthe second physical position may be 4 feet and a mobile device may berotated by four degrees. The change may be smaller than the thresholdand therefore a presentation of the visual code may also be moved 4 feetfrom the first physical position and rotated by four degrees.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve, upon detecting movement of themobile device, altering the presentation of the visual code so that thevisual code is unavailable for use in content sharing. Altering thepresentation of the visual code may include changing a visual propertyof the code. For example, the visual code may disappear, may bedistorted, or may be changed in any way that makes it unreadable orinvalid. For example, the visual code may disappear so a camera on awearable extended reality appliance may no longer be able to read thevisual code. Likewise, when the visual code is distorted or modified tomake it unreadable, the camera on the wearable extended realityappliance may no longer be able to read the visual code. A wearableextended reality appliance may not be able to share content in a commoncoordinate system when the appliance can no longer read the visual code.In other embodiments, an amount of change in location or orientationbeyond a threshold may result in generation of a new visual code,requiring wearable appliance users to detect the new visual code inorder to participate in (or to continue participating in) a commonvirtual reality experience.

When the detected movement includes a change in an orientation of themobile device without a change in a location of the mobile device, someof the disclosed embodiments may involve rendering the visual codeunavailable for use in content sharing. As described above, theorientation of a mobile device may be changed. In such a situation, aprior visual code may become unreadable as described above. For example,a top portion of a mobile device may be facing north in a commoncoordinate system that may be using cardinal directions. The mobiledevice may be rotated so the top portion of the mobile device may befacing south in the common coordinate system. Based on the change inorientation, the visual code may be unreadable by the wearable extendedreality appliance and the appliance may be unable to share content.

In one implementation, the detected movement may include a change in alocation of the mobile device without a change in an orientation of themobile device, and some disclosed embodiments may involve rendering thevisual code unavailable for use in content sharing. As described above,when the orientation and location of a mobile device displaying thevisual code changes, the visual code may become unreadable as describedabove. For example, a first physical position of a mobile device may bein an office conference room. A second physical position of a mobiledevice may be in an office hallway. The change in location may be thedifference between the mobile device being in the office conference roomand the mobile device being located in the office hallway. A visual codemay disappear when the mobile device moves into the office hallway.Therefore, the visual code may not be available to be read by thewearable extended reality appliance, and the appliance may not be ableto share content in the preexisting shared coordinate system.

In some embodiments, altering of the presentation may include removingthe presentation of the visual code from the display of the mobiledevice. A mobile device may no longer display a visual code after movingpositions in a physical space. In another embodiment, altering of thepresentation may include shrinking the presentation of the visual code,enlarging the presentation of the visual code, changing intensity of thevisual code, changing the color scheme of the visual code, adding avisual indicator indicative of the visual code being obsolete,distorting the presentation of the visual code, or any other alterationsto the visual appearance of the visual code. For example, altering thepresentation may make the visual code undetectable by one or morewearable extended reality appliances. As another example, altering thepresentation may enable one or more wearable extended reality appliancesto determine the visual code is obsolete.

In some embodiments, the altering of the presentation may includepresenting an updated visual code on the display of the mobile device,the updated visual code being configured for detection by an additionalwearable extended reality appliance, to thereby enable the additionalwearable extended reality appliance to share content in the commoncoordinate system upon the detection of the updated visual code. In someembodiments, altering the presentation may include presenting a newvisual code. A new visual code may include a different pattern,different type of code, different coloring, or any other type ofdifference compared to the original visual code. An additional wearableextended reality appliance may be present in a physical space and mayread the updated visual in order to display the common coordinate systemand the virtual objects located in the common coordinate system.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve generating the updated visualcode to reflect the second physical position of the mobile device. Insome examples, the second physical position may reflect a new commonreference point for a common coordinate system. An updated visual codemay contain information identifying the second physical position. Forexample, one or more wearable extended reality appliances may already besharing a common coordinate system. The users of the one or morewearable extended reality appliances may want to share a commoncoordinate system with an additional wearable extended realityappliance. A mobile device may be moved to a different position in thephysical space and display an updated visual code. The plurality ofwearable extended reality appliances may scan the updated visual code toenable a common coordinate system with the second physical position ofthe mobile device as a common reference point. In some examples, sincethe second physical position is different from the first physicalposition, the updated visual code may include a correction factor fordetermining the common coordinate system. The correction factor may bebased on a displacement between the first physical position and thesecond physical position, on a change in the direction of the mobiledevice, and so forth. In one example, the first physical position may beused as a reference point for the common coordinate system, and theupdated visual code may be configured to enable a determination of thefirst physical position based on the second physical position, forexample by encoding the displacement between the two physical positions.

In some embodiments, the second physical position of the mobile devicemay be determined based on an analysis of an image data depicting atleast part of the visual code and captured by an image sensor includedin a particular wearable extended reality appliance of the plurality ofwearable extended reality appliances after the detection of the visualcode by the plurality of wearable extended reality appliances. The imagedata captured by the image sensor may be analyzed using a visual patternrecognition algorithm to localize the visual code in the image data. Thelocation of the visual code in the image data may be compared with thelocation of the visual code at the time of the detection of the visualcode by the plurality of wearable extended reality appliances todetermine that a mobile device may have moved positions. For example, amobile device may be located in a first physical position in a space.The image sensor may capture the mobile device and a visual code beingdisplayed on the mobile device at a first location. The mobile devicemay move in a left direction in the space to a second physical position.The image sensor may capture the visual code at a different location anddetermine that the mobile device has moved positions in the space.

In some embodiments, the movement of the mobile device may be detectedbased on a comparison of a position of the visual code in the image dataand a position in the common coordinate system corresponding to thefirst physical position of the mobile device. In some examples, theposition of the visual code in the image data may corresponds to aspecific position in the common coordinate system. The image data may beanalyzed using visual pattern recognition algorithm to identify theposition of the visual code in the image data. The position of thevisual code in the image data, the size of the visual code in the imagedata and/or the capturing parameters of the image data (such as aposition of the image sensor, an orientation of the image sensor, zoomor other optical characteristics associated with the capturing of theimage data, etc.) may be used to determine the specific position in thecommon coordinate system. The specific position in the common coordinatesystem may be compared with the position in the common coordinate systemcorresponding to the first physical position of the mobile device. Amovement of the mobile device may be detected when the specific positionin the common coordinate system is different from the position in thecommon coordinate system corresponding to the first physical position ofthe mobile device, or when the distance between the specific position inthe common coordinate system and the position in the common coordinatesystem corresponding to the first physical position of the mobile deviceis longer than a selected threshold.

In one implementation, the visual code may include at least one dynamicmarker indicative of detected movements of the mobile device, and somedisclosed embodiments may involve changing the at least one dynamicmarker when generating the updated visual code. A dynamic marker mayinclude an indicator with characteristics that may change, or differentindicators having differing characteristics. For example, a marker thatis dynamic may have characteristics that vary over time in one or moreof information presented, color saturation, color scheme, brightness, orany other change that is capable of conveying differing information as aresult of the changes. Alternatively, a dynamic marker may be one thatchanges completely. For example, at a first position the marker mayreflect a first bar code or QR code, and in a second position the markermay reflect an entirely different bar code or QR code. An updated visualcode may include a change in the code based on a detected movement of amobile device. For example, a mobile device may move in a physicalspace. The processor may detect the movement of the mobile device. Basedon the movement, the dynamic marker of the visual code may change. Forexample, alphanumeric information may change, symbols, icons or othergraphics, may change, and/or a change in color saturation, color scheme,or brightness may occur.

FIG. 61 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method 6110 that may beexecuted by a processor to perform operations for sharing virtualcontent. Method 6110 may include a step 6111 of generating a visual codereflecting a first physical position of a mobile device. Method 6110 mayalso include a step 6112 of presenting the visual code on a display ofthe mobile device for detection by a plurality of wearable extendedreality appliances, to enable the plurality of wearable extended realityappliances to share content in a common coordinate system. Further,method 6110 may include a step 6113 of detecting movement of the mobiledevice to a second physical position different from the first physicalposition. Method 6110 may include a step 6114 of altering thepresentation of the visual code so that the visual code is unavailablefor use in content sharing.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art. The materials, methods, and examples provided herein areillustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

Implementation of the method and system of the present disclosure mayinvolve performing or completing certain selected tasks or stepsmanually, automatically, or a combination thereof. Moreover, accordingto actual instrumentation and equipment of preferred embodiments of themethod and system of the present disclosure, several selected steps maybe implemented by hardware (HW) or by software (SW) on any operatingsystem of any firmware, or by a combination thereof. For example, ashardware, selected steps of the disclosure could be implemented as achip or a circuit. As software or algorithm, selected steps of thedisclosure could be implemented as a plurality of software instructionsbeing executed by a computer using any suitable operating system. In anycase, selected steps of the method and system of the disclosure could bedescribed as being performed by a data processor, such as a computingdevice for executing a plurality of instructions.

Various implementations of the systems and techniques described here canbe realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry,specially designed ASICs (application specific integrated circuits),computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof.These various implementations can include implementation in one or morecomputer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processor, whichmay be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data andinstructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storagesystem, at least one input device, and at least one output device.

The systems and techniques described here can be implemented in acomputing system that includes a back end component (e.g., as a dataserver), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an applicationserver), or that includes a front end component (e.g., a client computerhaving a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a usercan interact with an implementation of the systems and techniquesdescribed here), or any combination of such back end, middleware, orfront end components. The components of the system can be interconnectedby any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., acommunication network). Examples of communication networks include alocal area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), and theInternet. The computing system can include clients and servers. A clientand server are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

While certain features of the described implementations have beenillustrated as described herein, many modifications, substitutions,changes and equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. Itis, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended tocover all such modifications and changes as fall within the scope of theimplementations. It should be understood that they have been presentedby way of example only, not limitation, and various changes in form anddetails may be made. Any portion of the apparatus and/or methodsdescribed herein may be combined in any combination, except mutuallyexclusive combinations. The implementations described herein can includevarious combinations and/or sub-combinations of the functions,components and/or features of the different implementations described.

The foregoing description has been presented for purposes ofillustration. It is not exhaustive and is not limited to the preciseforms or embodiments disclosed. Modifications and adaptations of theembodiments will be apparent from consideration of the specification andpractice of the disclosed embodiments. For example, the describedimplementations include hardware and software, but systems and methodsconsistent with the present disclosure may be implemented as hardwarealone.

It is appreciated that the above-described embodiments can beimplemented by hardware, or software (program codes), or a combinationof hardware and software. If implemented by software, it can be storedin the above-described computer-readable media. The software, whenexecuted by the processor can perform the disclosed methods. Thecomputing units and other functional units described in the presentdisclosure can be implemented by hardware, or software, or a combinationof hardware and software. One of ordinary skill in the art will alsounderstand that multiple ones of the above-described modules/units canbe combined as one module or unit, and each of the above-describedmodules/units can be further divided into a plurality of sub-modules orsub-units.

The block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture,functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems,methods, and computer hardware or software products according to variousexample embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, eachblock in a flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, segment,or portion of code, which includes one or more executable instructionsfor implementing the specified logical functions. It should beunderstood that in some alternative implementations, functions indicatedin a block may occur out of order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may be executed or implemented substantiallyconcurrently, or two blocks may sometimes be executed in reverse order,depending upon the functionality involved. Some blocks may also beomitted. It should also be understood that each block of the blockdiagrams, and combination of the blocks, may be implemented by specialpurpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions oracts, or by combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions.

In the foregoing specification, embodiments have been described withreference to numerous specific details that can vary from implementationto implementation. Certain adaptations and modifications of thedescribed embodiments can be made. Other embodiments can be apparent tothose skilled in the art from consideration of the specification andpractice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that thespecification and examples be considered as example only, with a truescope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the followingclaims. It is also intended that the sequence of steps shown in figuresare only for illustrative purposes and are not intended to be limited toany particular sequence of steps. As such, those skilled in the art canappreciate that these steps can be performed in a different order whileimplementing the same method.

It will be appreciated that the embodiments of the present disclosureare not limited to the exact construction that has been described aboveand illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and that variousmodifications and changes may be made without departing from the scopethereof. And other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in theart from consideration of the specification and practice of thedisclosed embodiments disclosed herein. It is intended that thespecification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a truescope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments being indicated by thefollowing claims.

Moreover, while illustrative embodiments have been described herein, thescope includes any and all embodiments having equivalent elements,modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across variousembodiments), adaptations or alterations based on the presentdisclosure. The elements in the claims are to be interpreted broadlybased on the language employed in the claims and not limited to examplesdescribed in the present specification or during the prosecution of theapplication. These examples are to be construed as non-exclusive.Further, the steps of the disclosed methods can be modified in anymanner, including by reordering steps or inserting or deleting steps. Itis intended, therefore, that the specification and examples beconsidered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit beingindicated by the following claims and their full scope of equivalents.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer readable mediumconfigured for enabling content sharing between users of wearableextended reality appliances, the computer readable medium containinginstructions that when executed by at least one processor cause the atleast one processor to perform the steps of: establishing a link betweena first wearable extended reality appliance and a second wearableextended reality appliance; presenting through the first wearableextended reality appliance first virtual content; obtaining a firstcommand to display the first virtual content via the second wearableextended reality appliance; receiving from the second wearable extendedreality appliance, second virtual content for display via the firstwearable extended reality appliance; and presenting via the firstwearable extended reality appliance the second virtual content receivedfrom the second wearable extended reality appliance.
 2. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein theinstructions are configured to cause the processor to establish the linkand enable information exchange when the first wearable extended realityappliance is detected in proximity to the second wearable extendedreality appliance.
 3. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 1, wherein obtaining the first command includes identifying asharing intent in data captured by the first wearable extended realityappliance.
 4. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 3,wherein the sharing intent is identified in captured image data.
 5. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 3, wherein the sharingintent is identified in captured voice data.
 6. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 3, wherein the sharing intent isidentified in captured positioning data.
 7. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 1, wherein obtaining the first command includesidentifying a sharing intent associated with an action performed in anextended reality environment.
 8. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 7, wherein identifying the sharing intent includesdetermining that a first user of the first wearable extended realityappliance changed an orientation of a virtual screen presenting thefirst virtual content towards a second user of the second wearableextended reality appliance.
 9. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 7, wherein identifying the sharing intent includesdetermining that a first user of the first wearable extended realityappliance moved the first virtual content towards a virtual sharingspace surrounding a second user of the second wearable extended realityappliance.
 10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7,wherein identifying the sharing intent includes determining that a firstuser of the first wearable extended reality appliance moved the firstvirtual content towards a defined virtual sharing space.
 11. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the virtualsharing space is automatically created when the link is established. 12.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein avisualization of the virtual sharing space is presented by each of thefirst wearable extended reality appliance and the second wearableextended reality appliance.
 13. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 10, wherein a location of the virtual sharing space isdetermined based on a location of physical object in an environment ofthe first wearable extended reality appliance.
 14. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the steps further includeproviding an indicator via the first wearable extended reality applianceupon the first virtual content being presented via the second wearableextended reality appliance.
 15. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 1, wherein the first virtual content is associated withat least one private virtual object and at least one public virtualobject, and wherein causing the first virtual content to be transmittedfor display by the second wearable extended reality appliance includestransmitting the at least one public virtual object and avoidingtransmission of the at least one private virtual object.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein causing thefirst virtual content to be displayed by the second wearable extendedreality appliance includes modifying the first virtual content accordingto default settings associated with the second wearable extended realityappliance.
 17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1,wherein the first virtual content includes a two-dimensional virtualobject, and the second virtual content includes an alternate version ofthe two-dimensional virtual object.
 18. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 1, wherein the first virtual content includes athree-dimensional virtual object, and the second virtual contentincludes a two-dimensional virtual object associated with thethree-dimensional object.
 19. A method for enabling content sharingbetween users of wearable extended reality appliances, the methodcomprising: establishing a link between a first wearable extendedreality appliance and a second wearable extended reality appliance;presenting through the first wearable extended reality appliance firstvirtual content; obtaining a first command to display the first virtualcontent via the second wearable extended reality appliance; in responseto the first command, causing the first virtual content to betransmitted for display to the second wearable extended realityappliance; receiving from the second wearable extended realityappliance, second virtual content for display via the first wearableextended reality appliance; and presenting via the first wearableextended reality appliance the second virtual content received from thesecond wearable extended reality appliance.
 20. A system for enablingcontent sharing between users of wearable extended reality appliances,the system comprising: at least one processor programmed to; establish alink between a first wearable extended reality appliance and a secondwearable extended reality appliance; present through the first wearableextended reality appliance first virtual content; receive a firstcommand via the first wearable extended reality appliance to display thefirst virtual content via the second wearable extended realityappliance; in response to the first command, cause the first virtualcontent to be transmitted for display to the second wearable extendedreality appliance; receive from the second wearable extended realityappliance, second virtual content for display via the first wearableextended reality appliance; and present via the first wearable extendedreality appliance the second virtual content received from the secondwearable extended reality appliance.